Four meters high, five meters wide and weighing in at 170 kilos: Emmen is getting its very own version of Rembrandt van Rijn’s best known painting, “The Night Watch”.
Translation by Traci White
RTV Drenthe reports that a group of volunteers in Emmen are recreating the painting at the Savannehuis at the Noorderdierenpark. The initial preparations for the project, which is set to begin in 2019, began over the weekend. Bea Wolters, the secretary of “The Night Watch of Emmen” group, told RTV Drenthe, “We’ll hang up a canvas and get going in earnest on 3 January. We’ll be painting on Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays.”
Plans to create an accurate replica of Rembrandt’s iconic painting have been in the works for more than a year. There will be up to 40 painters involved who are expected to spend 3,000 hours over the course of the next two years to recreate the massive painting. The goal behind the epic project is to “promote amateur painters and better connect to the public.”
The Savannah House used to be the giraffe habitat at the Dierentuin in Emmen, and the former zoo itself is being developed into an arts and culture centre called Rensenpark. Members of the public can visit the Savannah House while the painting is being recreated.
The original “The Night Watch”, which hangs is a hall at the Rijksmuseum specially designed to display the huge 363 cm by 437 cm painting, took four years to paint and was completed in 1642. The original painting will be undergoing extensive restorations starting this summer, but will remain on display while experts carry out the most complete work on the masterpiece in 40 years. 2019 also marks the 350th anniversary of Rembrandt’s death.
Photo source: Wikipedia
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