The Sampling Officials of the Amsterdam Drapers’ Guild, Known as ‘The Syndics’
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
h 191.5cm × w 279cm
Classification
painting
Museum
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
About this artwork
Samplers checked the quality of dyed cloth. Here Rembrandt shows them at work, distracted for a moment and looking up. One syndic is about to sit, or stand, so not all the heads are at the same level. A clever trick which, with the confident brushwork and subtle use of light, make this one of the liveliest group portraits of the 17th century. Originally painted for the sampling hall (Staalhof), in 1771 it was acquired by Amsterdam’s town hall.
About the Artist
Rembrandt van Rijn · 1606–1669
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606–1669) stands as one of the greatest visual artists in the history of Western art and the most important Dutch painter of the 17th century. Born in Leiden to a prosperous miller's family, Rembrandt transformed painting through his revolutionary use of light and shadow, his psychological depth in portraiture, and his elevation of etching to a fine art. His approx...