When Christopher Benson discovered a possible George Bellows painting, he dove into the detective work, which he says was also “an excuse to talk about something I love.”
The following is an excerpt from his book, “Tracking Mr. Bellows: A Painter’s Analysis of an Orphaned Oil.”
This is a story about oil painting, and more specifically about my discovery of an unsigned, unattributed work which I think was made by George Wesley Bellows, a well-known American realist painter of the early 1900s. As I’ve been researching that picture, it’s also become the fulcrum for a wider examination of the artform, which I myself have been practicing now for most of my sixty years. If I think Bellows made this painting, it’s due to my long experience working with the same materials.
The back of the painting
Virtually nothing is known about the painting in question, save whatever information it offers us in itself. It has no provenance beyond the mid-1980s, when it was bought in an antiques gallery in Pennsylvania. It hasn’t got any identifying information fixed to its back or bars, as old paintings often have — traces of their travels akin to the colorful labels pasted on luggage in the days of the great ocean liners, the transcontinental railways and early air travel.
We have only a torn fragment of a paper label with a simple decorative border and the remnants of the legend “Grand Central Terminal” set in a san-serif type-face. The initials “CAL”, are scrawled vertically on the back of the canvas in grease pencil, but I can find no early 20th century American painter with those initials who worked in this style. There is also the commercial stamp of the stretcher manufacturer, Fredrix, one one side, along with the size of that bar, which is 19 inches.
The labelThe stamp
These typographic traces — the label and the stamp — both match styles in circulation in the early 1900s.
From the label, we can conclude that at some point the painting either passed through Grand Central Station in New York, or else that it may have been exhibited in the Grand Central Art Galleries, an exhibition space for the Painters and Sculptors Gallery Association. This was a cooperative artist’s group that John Singer Sargent founded in 1922, along with some other artists whose names were once well-known, but most of whom have since receded from the public mind.
Related Article >Art Versus Methodology: Christopher Benson shares an essay on danger of confusing the level of our craft with the quality of our art.
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Dave Bernard, Senior Marketing Specialist for Streamline Publishing
You may not know that there’s a team of experts here at Streamline who are available to help you with your marketing strategy by reaching thousands of potential buyers and relevant audiences. In this new mini-series, you’ll get to know each of the specialists who are here to help you gain exposure to collectors, galleries, museums, and more.
Today’s spotlight is on Senior Marketing Specialist Dave Bernard, who has decades of experience in various aspects of the art industry.
Dave Bernard, Senior Marketing Specialist
I have called Portland, Oregon my home for the past forty years. By the time I graduated from Lewis & Clark College with a degree in Fine Art with a Business emphasis, I had fallen in love with both the Pacific Northwest and my wife of now 33 years.
I spent much of my working career in retail art supply management while my wife, an Elementary Special Education Teacher, and I raised two incredible kids. In 2013, I moved from retail management into a Product Specialist position with Gamblin Artists Colors, a manufacturer of professional oil colors and printmaking inks.
For the next six-plus years, I provided technical assistance to oil painters around the world. I also developed and managed a workshop support program for oil painters teaching out of their studios and at other venues throughout North America getting to meet and work with some of the very artists who are now my clients at Streamline Publishing. It is a small world.
After a pandemic job loss, I happily began my career with Streamline Publishing in July of 2020 and have spent the past year working full time out of a home office. I have thoroughly enjoyed learning in depth about Streamline Publishing’s product line and applying that knowledge to help my clients gain valuable exposure to collectors, galleries, and museums.
As a Senior Marketing Specialist I serve as an account rep for several hundred clients of PleinAir and Fine Art Connoisseur magazines. My primary focus is the Western half of the U.S. although there are certainly some geographical exceptions.
Decades of working in retail art materials serving the creative community has allowed me to interact with many, many professional artists. My technical support position at Gamblin provided even more insight into the challenges, expectations, and desires of working creatives.
While I have an extensive knowledge of the different materials painters and sculptors use every day, it’s years of communication – discussions and just plain listening – that has shaped my ability to help artists define their marketing goals and determine the best tools for increasing their exposure to collectors, galleries, and museums.
From a Marketing Specialist standpoint, I feel a little spoiled. Fine Art Connoisseur and PleinAirMagazine both provide the highest quality reading experience and exceptional advertising opportunities. In fact, our print magazines combined with their affiliated digital newsletters (Fine Art Today, Realism Today, Plein Air Today, and American Watercolor Weekly) and websites (FineArtConnoisseur.com, OutdoorPainter.com, RealismToday.com, and AmericanWatercolor.net) offer the advantages of both print and digital advertising in reaching important audiences – collectors and students alike. That’s a lot to work with.
I give all Streamline brands equal weight until my clients determine their primary business goal(s). For example, if their goal is to reach more potential workshop students, then we are more likely to look at PleinAir Magazine and other related digital advertising platforms.
If the client’s goal is to get in front of more collectors, then the Fine Art Connoisseur brand is more likely to be their best opportunity. That said, it’s important to look at all aspects of the artist/client’s own brand. Sometimes there are cross-over opportunities between Streamline brands that may benefit a client.
My top three pieces of advice when it comes to marketing for artists:
Determine your top two business goals as an artist. Always ask if your marketing choices feed these goals. At least 75% of all your marketing plans should address your #1 business goal.
Budget and repetition matter. Determine a monthly marketing budget for a 1-2 year period that works for you – and advertise as consistently as your budget will allow. Repetition increases exposure, exposure creates opportunities, opportunities fulfill goals.
Use social media to support your marketing plan. Post on a regular schedule, once or twice a week ideally on the same day of the week. (Topics: new work, work in progress, sold artwork, acceptance into shows, awards, editorials, advertisements, workshops taught, workshops taken, art-related travel)
On a Personal Note
I have always resisted talking about “favorite” artists – suffice to say, it would be a long list, both contemporary and historic. I would rather share that I gravitate toward art that retains some evidence of the artist’s hand at work without trying to copy the subject in exactitude.
I most admire artwork that somehow captures or speaks to the essence of the subject – be that a person, figure, landscape, or object. Art that has a “less is more” descriptive power wins the day for me. (Ok, I also love children’s art – I have a couple of paintings my daughter did at a little easel on the back patio one summer when she was very young. Her choice of color and brushwork energy is amazing!)
Ali Hammad, "The Bird Catcher," 2017, oil on linen
The Art Renewal Center (ARC) is holding an online auction hosted on Sothebys.com. Open for bidding online from July 16 – July 26, 2021, this sale is entitled “Contemporary Realism: Important 21st Century Works.” It consists of 28 lots featuring a carefully selected group of winners and high-ranking finalists from the largest competition in the world for representational art.
The ARC received 4,941 entries from 83 countries and spanning six continents to their 15th International ARC Salon Competition. In person viewing will be available at Sotheby’s NY during these same dates in conjunction with the 15th International ARC Salon Exhibition; a total of 91 contemporary representational works to be on view. The public opening will be held on July 17, from 11am to 3pm (please RSVP to attend this event).
The works represent a diverse grouping of artists of different ethnicities, genders and backgrounds from around the world. Starting as only a murmur in the 1980’s, the 21st Century Representational Art Movement has grown exponentially along with interest and demand. It is anticipated that this public sale for Important 21st Century Realism hosted by Sotheby’s will be the first of many.
Christopher Remmers, “Zain,” 2020, oil on Belgian linen, 84 x 80 in.Sandra Kuck, “Yin and Yang,” 2020, oil on canvas, 24 x 36 in.Kumiko S. McKee, “Isaiah,” 2017, graphite on paper, 40 x 30 in.Jim McVicker, “Red Rhododendron,” 2020, oil on linen, 60 x 54 in.
The ARC has also partnered with Fashion Week San Diego® (FWSD), California’s largest traditional fashion week, to present “Art and Beauty Behind Fashion,” on July 24, where nine FWSD designers will debut their original couture outfits on live models, paired with and inspired by premier pieces from the 15th ARC Salon Competition. Tickets to “Art & Beauty Behind Fashion” will be an exclusive event requiring an RSVP to be made in advance at [email protected].
This Fall: Contemporary Realism on View in Barcelona
After the show at Sotheby’s NY, the majority of works in the exhibition will be traveling on to the Museum of European Modern Art, (MEAM), in Barcelona, (October 8 – December 12), joining additional works from the competition. Here it will hang alongside the MEAM’s representational painting and sculpture competition, Figurativas. This awe-inspiring event will showcase the true international nature and collaborative spirit of this new wave in Contemporary Art.
Kara Lysandra Ross, ARC Co-Chair and COO states, “21st Century Representational Art cannot possibly be mistaken for any other period in fine art, as it is inherently an expression of today’s society, communicating our shared humanity. For 100 years, artists have been deconstructing works of fine art, creating paintings that are visually flat, throwing paint, or even showing blank canvases. At the time this was new, exciting and shocking. Now, in the 21st century, thousands of artists and collectors alike want to start reconstructing and reclaiming our universal visual language, like great theater, suspending disbelief, and expressing it all with beauty, poetry and grace.”
> Visit EricRhoads.com to learn about more opportunities for artists and art collectors, including retreats, international art trips, art conventions, and more.
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As part of our effort to continue to help artists and art galleries thrive, we’re proud to bring you this week’s “Virtual Gallery Walk.” Browse the artwork below and click the image itself to learn more about it, including how to contact the gallery.
Sea Island, #18 by Lori Zummo, Oil. 9 x 12 in., (21 x 18 in. framed); Anderson Fine Art Gallery
A Forest II by Nigel Cox, Oil on canvas, 10 x 10 in., Signed; Rehs Contemporary
Arc de Triomphe by Edouard Leon Cortes (1882 – 1969), Oil on canvas, 13 x 18 in., Signed; Rehs Galleries, Inc.
Wetlands Sunrise Diptych by Geoffrey C. Smith, Oil on canvas, 48 x 72 in.; Geoffrey C. Smith Galleries
Spring Creek by Lorenzo Chavez, Oil, 12 x 16 in., ArtzLine.com
Stickney Brook Falls: Dappled Spring Light by Kate Beetle, Oil on linen panel, 16 x 20 in., 23 x 27 in. framed; Vermont Artisan Designs
Want to see your gallery featured in an upcoming Virtual Gallery Walk? Contact us at [email protected] to advertise today. Don’t delay, as spaces are first come, first served, and availability is limited.
Nancy Tankersley working on her 2019 Waterfowl Festival featured painting “Podgin' for Oysters.”
The artist’s new light-filled studio features a small gallery which may be visited by appointment.
How did you get started and then develop your career?
Nancy Tankersley: My journey as an artist has been as a result of serendipity. I didn’t come from a family of artists and there was no original art on our walls. I credit my start to my older brother who had received a Jon Nagy Learn to Draw Kit but didn’t have much interest in it. I found it fascinating, especially how everything starts with basic shapes, and I began experimenting with sketches of relatives.
By the time I was ready to go to college I knew I wanted to be an artist, but to keep my options open, I enrolled in a big university. Having no idea of how to turn what I learned in my art classes into a career, I switched to sociology and after graduation worked a few years in that field. After I had my first child and I took a night course in portraiture, I started doing commissioned portraits and all thoughts of any other career disappeared! However, I’ve never been happy following a single path, so I continued to take painting courses and found as much satisfaction painting other subjects.
In 2004 I became heavily involved in the plein air movement, helping to found Plein Air Easton, and that opened many other pathways that have aided my career. I love teaching and have devoted much of the last 12 years of my career to sharing what I know. Winston Churchill’s small book, Painting as a Pastime, talks about the many benefits of learning to paint at any age.
How do you find inspiration?
I snap lots of photos randomly, many out of a moving car, boat or train, and sometimes years later will go back through them until an arrangement of shapes or interesting light effects catch my eye and I start to see a painting. My work is impressionistic and gestural but with a strong suggestion of the underlying foundation of what I am trying to interpret.
I paint outside mainly to familiarize myself with nature and improve my skills as a painter. Over the years, my paintings of people at work, in restaurants and at leisure have been a mainstay of my gallery work. Painting people at work seems to be my strongest theme, and the one that I return to over and over. Two years ago I was honored to be the featured artist at the 49th Waterfowl Festival in Easton, MD exhibiting my paintings of Chesapeake Bay watermen at work.
Currently I am developing a body of figurative landscape paintings focused on the agricultural life of the Eastern Shore. I love the landscape but especially when there is some evidence of the humans. It would be easy to make a political statement, but mostly I am an observer and leave it up to the viewer to interpret.
What is the best thing about being an artist?
I think we are the luckiest people in the world because we don’t have to retire, and we can always get better at what we do. Painting is mostly centered in the brain and the heart, so even though our physical strength, endurance and ability may decline, we still have our imaginations and our knowledge to help us to continue the creative journey. The wisdom that comes from age may even start to seep into our work, and that’s when some of our best work may be born. Monet’s gigantic water lily paintings, done when he was half blind with cataracts, are absolute proof!
Nancy Tankersley, “Generations,” 24 x 24 in., oil on panel, 2021Nancy Tankersley, “No Need for Company,” 36 x 36 in., oil on canvas, 2019Nancy Tankersley, “Sweetgrass Man,” 18 x 18 in., oil on canvas, 2021Nancy Tankersley, “Ready to Rip,” 20 x 20 in., oil on canvas, 2019
Cheri Christensen, “Color My World,” oil on board, 18 x 18 in.
On painting feathers: If your paintings of birds are too “tight,” consider these tips from Cheri Christensen on how to loosen up.
By Cheri Christensen
Wondering how to paint feathers? Feel your paintings are too tight? Want to loosen up?
Cheri Christensen, “Protecting the Flock,” oil on board, 18 x 36 in.
Then follow these quick tips for painting feathers for chickens and other birds:
Consider the passages of light and shadow versus each individual feather. Think: Big Shapes! You must get the main structure down first. You’ve got to paint the bird before the feathers!
To paint those big shapes, use big brushes and stand back from your painting while looking at your reference subject. Don’t get in too close to your artwork to paint details before the structure is complete.
Look for lost edges! Don’t make every edge sharp. Soften the edges where needed and lose them where you can. Less is more. It is the suggestion of feathers that makes the painting interesting — not each individual feather.
Follow these tips and you will be painting beautiful birds!
Cheri Christensen, “Shy Chick,” oil on board, 6 x 6 in.Cheri Christensen, “Scruffy Chick,” oil on board, 6 x 6 in.Cheri Christensen, “Scattered Chicks,” oil on board, 6 x 18 in.Cheri Christensen, “Side by Side,” oil on board, 16 x 20 in.Cheri Christensen, “Rooster at Grey Barn,” oil on board, 12 x 12 in.
The home art studio of Lori Putnam (facing northwest)
It’s somewhat common to hear the phrase “I have a studio space in my house.” Many artists have a home art studio that is a converted bedroom, an unused dining area, a corner of the basement, or an otherwise empty attic. Having some type of dedicated space for one’s art is so important.
But when Lori Putnam told me that her house was in her studio, I had to find out more. She explained that she and her husband, Mark, didn’t originally intend to live in her art studio, although now it seems like a no-brainer. “It’s not for everyone, but it’s perfect for us,” she said.
The studio, and home, from the outside
The Perfect Art Studio
The original plan was to first build an art studio on their new property and temporarily live in the studio’s loft until their home was completed. The space, then, was designed only with art in mind: It’s a single, large room with high ceilings and north light with a small kitchen area and loft. The only door in the space, Lori says, is for the bathroom.
“People don’t even realize it’s our actual home at first,” Lori said. As they lived in the loft, they found that they didn’t need a separate house at all. “It feels like a studio and a home,” she said, “We’d still be over here if we had a house. Of course, it is a very large loft, so that may be part of it.”
Lori in her home art studio
Studio First
Because the space’s priority is art, it’s treated like a studio, complete with paint on the floor, and minimal, multi-functional furniture. “It had to be a studio first,” Lori said.
There are some comfortable chairs, a television that can also be used as a monitor for painting, and a long dining room table (one of the few things they kept when they sold their house prior to building the studio). The table itself has sentimental value, and so when Lori teaches workshops there, they move the table to the side of the room and cover it with plastic so that students can use it and also to protect it.
Speaking of her workshops, the space can hold up to 20 students with plenty of room to spread out. Lori simply moves her chairs upstairs to the loft, which is the only private area. It serves as the bedroom and contains their personal items, such as musical instruments and anything that doesn’t pertain to painting.
It might be a small space to contain both an art studio and a home, but Lori says that being organized helps. She has cabinets dedicated to her painting supplies, and admits that you might find a dish or two in them. Quoting what she told her husband, who does most of the cooking, “Mark, I’m going to give you three cabinets,” she laughed, adding that while she makes use of most of the space as an artist, she doesn’t paint in the kitchen.
Facing southeast
Art Studio Ideas
How does one create the perfect art studio? Lori shares some of the most important elements of her space:
Inspiration. “You hear that you should only have your own work in your studio,” Lori said, explaining that this way when potential buyers and collectors come in, they only see your work, but “I have it packed with paintings by my friends,” she says. “I feel like I have my friends there with me while I’m painting.”
A “taboret” that is actually a tool-chest set up in the middle of the studio. Lori says she’s in love with her toolbox: “It’s like it was made” for her art supplies.
Her Rosemary brush collection
A separate workroom area that leads onto a loading dock. “This is where the framing and varnishing happens,” she said. This way, her studio isn’t “junked up.” The workroom has industrial cabinets to keep things organized and separate from “the more creative side of the space.” Lori adds that it’s nice to have the loading dock for handling big panels and art supplies in general.
And the most important thing in her studio? The easel that Mark made for her. “It’s a horse of a tool for me,” she said.
The studio workroom
If you’re in the process of creating an art studio space, Lori has advice to help guide you. It’s first worth noting that while you need privacy, she says, “sometimes there just isn’t a space. I would rather be outside and that be my studio, than someplace that’s really, really dark. If your only option is the closet in the basement, then make the world your studio because that’s so much better and the light is going to be perfect.”
Back to creating a home art studio: “I think one of the most important things about a space is that first it feels the right size to you,” Lori said. “Some people prefer to be in a little tighter space. Some people prefer to have tall ceilings because they have a little bit of claustrophobia.”
Lori humbly says, “I can’t put my ideas on somebody else, but I can say that, for me, what has worked is this wonderful north light. It’s soft; it’s so pleasing when you walk in this room, combined with the really tall – 26-foot – ceilings. To a lot of people that would just be wasted space, but that feeling of being able to really breathe and not be closed in is perfect for me. It also allows the loft upstairs to have taller than average ceilings as well as a really large window at the peak.
“Being able to keep things stored and handy is helpful. If you happen to paint both in the studio and in plein air, then have a spot that’s just for your plein air gear. That was a biggie for me – to have a place where I know when I’m getting ready to go out and paint, everything is right there and I don’t have to go around and start digging to find stuff here and there. I think that’s huge.”
Facing southwestFacing westFacing west, toward loading dock
On Flooring
“Personally, if you’re able to have some say-so in the building of your space, or the space that you decide to rent, it’s great to have floors that are not gonna be hard on your feet, not going to hurt your legs, but that can wipe up if you care too. For instance, a concrete floor is great, but a concrete floor that isn’t suspended in some way, or doesn’t have some sort of really hefty mat where you stand most of the time will cause your legs to really ache especially, if you’re painting seven or eight hours a day.
“Our floor is hickory and I do have a big mat right in front of my easel. The hickory has such a nice finish on it that about once or twice a year I get down on my hands and knees and spend an hour and kind of get up the worst of the paint, usually before an open house or something, but I don’t have to worry about it. There’s no carpet, it can be easily wiped.”
A full house during one of Lori’s art workshopsOutdoor seating for art workshops
Under the Influence
Aside from the nuts and bolts of creating the perfect art studio, Lori advises to consider other surroundings than can affect you, such as playing motivating music or having silence. These subtle factors could make or break your painting experience.
“I don’t let myself have a bad painting day,” Lori said. “I might have a bad painting hour, but I don’t have the luxury of having a whole bad day. I know that if I’m having a bad painting hour, and I just take a break and turn on a different kind of music, or maybe turn on music if I haven’t had it on at all, it can be enough to reset my brain. For me, that will turn the painting around.
She adds that knowing what it is that can make you feel successful in your space can have a great impact, even if it’s something as simple as your favorite cup of coffee. “You can take a break and go, ’Okay, this is not going well, I’m just gonna go here and visit my coffee.’
“Ninety-five percent of this is a mind game, and so identify and write down the things that – even if they seem random – make you feel good. Try to incorporate those into your studio. We have some string lights, and I love lights, I’m like a little kid. I call them my happy lights, and so sometimes I just turn on my happy lights, and it just makes me happy and then I can get back to painting.”
But Does It Feel Good?
When it comes to having the best home art studio for you, Lori tells us that, “Honestly, it’s that feeling you get when you walk into it. If you cannot imagine yourself standing there, then it’s not the right place. I don’t care how much somebody else thinks it is, you have to be able to imagine yourself standing there; think about what you’re going to feel like, once your easel’s in there, once it’s five years down the road, and you’re still on there. If it doesn’t feel right and, given that you have the option, then look for somewhere else.
“I have a really good friend who has the greatest studio, and it is really just like a boat garage at a marina, where people generally keep their tools for working on their boats and all that stuff. She loves the water, so this is an inspirational place for her. But she just opens that door and bright sunshine comes in, and she literally tacks her canvas onto boards on the wall, and she paints. It is so perfect for her. It’s really about how you feel and not what anybody else expects. You can get wrapped up in ’Oh, so and so says I have to have north light and I have to have this and I have to add that. In the end, it just needs to feel good to you.”
Daniel Gerhartz, "Light Shines Forth," 2021, oil, 30 x 30 in
Classical Paintings by Daniel Gerhartz Inspire Intangible Emotion
From Meyer Gallery:
For his summer exhibition at Meyer Gallery, Daniel Gerhartz presents a new body of work that is a continuation of his expressive and emotional painting style depicting quiet moments and idyllic scenes. Portraits, still life and landscape paintings are inspired by the artist’s personal experiences or familiar people and places, yet this connection is often unbeknownst to the viewer.
This ambiguity is intentional as Gerhartz hopes viewers respond to his work on an emotional level and attach their own meaning to the imagery.
“What is Left Unsaid” opens on Friday, July 9, 2021. Artwork will be available in the gallery and online at meyergalleries.com.
“I don’t like to fill in all the blanks,” says Gerhartz of his subject matter, “but instead let the viewer use their imagination. It’s the same with the gestural painting technique – looser edges let the viewer bring their own story to the work.”
Gerhartz’s liberated painting style results in rich texture and luminous surfaces, as he captures the nuances of light across freshly fallen snow or within the glimmering layers of a woman’s evening gown. An artist who paints from the heart, Gerhartz captures what words cannot express as his paintings hinge on mood and visceral emotion. Intangible ideas such as hope, romance, tranquility, and divine connection are some of the themes felt across his work.
Daniel Gerhartz “What is Left Unsaid,” Oil, 34 x 34 in.
“What Is Left Unsaid” also titles an important piece in the show, a portrait of a woman’s profile beneath a translucent veil that glows with light and exuberant brushwork. This piece received the Gold Medal Award and the Member’s Choice Award for the Master Signature Division of the 2021 Oil Painters of American National Juried Show. Meyer Gallery is honored to display this piece as the namesake painting for the exhibition.
Daniel Gerhartz, “Morning’s Glory,” 2021, oil, 36 x 36 in.Daniel Gerhartz “Duet,” Oil, 16 x 24 in.Daniel Gerhartz, “Paris Opera-Nocturne,” 2021, oil, 30 x 24 in.
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Visitors to the Rijksmuseum can now enjoy “The Night Watch” in its original form, for the first time in 300 years.
From the museum:
Several sections were cut from “The Night Watch” in the past. The Operation Night Watch team has successfully recreated these missing pieces, which have now been mounted around Rembrandt’s world-famous work. This reconstruction based on the 17th-century copy attributed to Gerrit Lundens was made with the help of artificial intelligence. The result is a significant component in the art historical research conducted as part of Operation Night Watch. The reconstructed painting will remain on public display at the Rijksmuseum for the coming months.
“‘The Night Watch’ as it is displayed in the Rijksmuseum is etched into our collective memory,” said Taco Dibbits, director of the Rijksmuseum. “Thanks to this reconstruction, we can now see that the composition as it was painted by Rembrandt was even more dynamic. It is wonderful to be able to now see with our own eyes ‘The Night Watch’ as Rembrandt intended it to be seen.”
Differences
There are a number of differences between “The Night Watch” as we know it today and the painting in its original form. On the left of the reconstructed version, for example, we can now see three figures on a bridge: two militiamen and a young boy. And the painting’s main figures, Captain Frans Banninck Cocq and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburch, are now positioned to the right of centre, rather than in the middle of the canvas. These factors add a considerable sense of movement and dynamism to the painting.
It is now also clearer that the powder boy in the left foreground is grasping a balustrade. The boy has furthermore gained space into which he can move, with the result that he seems more clearly to be running away, ahead of the militia.
The helmet worn by the militiaman on the extreme right is now complete, and there is space above the standard, making the motion of the ensign as he raises the company’s colors more convincing.
Art historical research
The reconstruction of “The Night Watch” is an important component of the art historical research conducted as part of Operation Night Watch. By reconstructing the missing sections, printing them on panels, and temporarily placing them around the original painting, researchers can now experience the effect of the painting in its original form.
Operation Night Watch is the largest and most wide-ranging research project ever conducted into Rembrandt’s masterpiece. The research began in summer 2019, and conservation work will only commence following completion of this phase.
Ensemble
Rembrandt finished “The Night Watch” in 1642. The militia commissioned Rembrandt to make the painting for its new banqueting hall at its headquarters, the Kloveniersdoelen. Hanging in this hall, the painting formed part an ensemble comprising seven militia portraits, or schuttersstukken. Experiencing the original composition allows for a better comparison with the six other works. It is not the museum’s intention to incorporate the lost pieces in the actual restoration of “The Night Watch.”
Reconstruction of the great hall of the Kloveniersdoelen building
Trimmed
In 1715, the painting was moved to what was then Amsterdam’s City Hall, now the Royal Palace on Dam Square. It was too large for its new location, so it was reduced in size. Strips were cut from all four sides, with the largest section being removed from the left side.
“The fate of the missing pieces of ‘The Night Watch’ remains a great mystery,” said Pieter Roelofs, Head of Paintings and Sculptures, Rijksmuseum. “Each generation has used the tools available to it to attempt to reconstruct the painting. Now we are doing the same, using the most advanced techniques currently available.”
Photo by Reinier Gerritsen
Artificial intelligence
We know what the painting originally looked like thanks to the copy commissioned by Captain Frans Banninck Cocq – and probably painted by Gerrit Lundens in the period from 1642 to 1655. This copy served as the basis for the reconstruction made with the help of artificial intelligence.
In the first step, the team taught Rembrandt’s technique and use of color to so-called ‘artificial neural networks’. Once this phase was complete, the computer recreated the missing parts in the style of Rembrandt.
“This project testifies to the key importance of science and modern techniques in the research being conducted into ‘The Night Watch,'” said Robert Erdmann, Senior Scientist, Rijksmuseum. “It is thanks to artificial intelligence that we can so closely simulate the original painting and the impression it would have made.”
> Visit EricRhoads.com to learn about more opportunities for artists and art collectors, including retreats, international art trips, art conventions, and more.
> Sign up to receive Fine Art Today, our free weekly e-newsletter
As part of our effort to continue to help artists and art galleries thrive, we’re proud to bring you this week’s “Virtual Gallery Walk.” Browse the artwork below and click the image itself to learn more about it, including how to contact the gallery.
Sunflowers by Ellen Buselli, Oil, 15 x 16 in., (19 x 20 in. framed); Anderson Fine Art Gallery
Strawberry Daiquiri by Todd M. Casey, Oil on panel, 8 x 6 in., Signed; Rehs Contemporary
Cows with Shepherd and Dog by Marie Dieterle (1856 – 1935), Oil on canvas, 24 x 19 in., Signed; Rehs Galleries, Inc.
Sunflowers and Cider by Julie Y Baker Albright, Oil on panel, 16 x 20 in., 24 x 28 in. framed; Vermont Artisan Designs
Distant Horizons by Geoffrey C. Smith, Oil on canvas, 60 x 48 in.; Geoffrey C. Smith Galleries
Desert Spring Run-Off by Darcie Peet, Oil, 24 x 18 in., ArtzLine.com
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