Rembrandt van Rijn - The Conspiracy of the Batavians under Claudius Civilis - fine art print

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This work of art The Conspiracy of the Batavians under Claudius Civilis was painted by the Dutch artist Rembrandt van Rijn. The artwork was made with the size: Height: 196 cm (77,1 ″); Width: 309 cm (10,1 ft) Framed: Height: 253 cm (99,6 ″); Width: 366 cm (12 ft); Depth: 19 cm (7,4 ″). The work of art belongs to the Nationalmuseum Stockholm's collection. We are pleased to reference that the artpiece, which is in the public domain is being provided - courtesy of Nationalmuseum Stockholm & Wikimedia Commons.: . The alignment is landscape with an image ratio of 3 : 2, which implies that the length is 50% longer than the width. Rembrandt van Rijn was a male painter, whose art style can be attributed primarily to Baroque. The European painter was born in 1606 in Leiden and deceased at the age of 63 in the year 1669.

(© - by Nationalmuseum Stockholm - Nationalmuseum Stockholm)

English: “Civilis summoned the leaders of the tribe and those prepared to fight for liberty to a sacred grove ostensibly for a banquet and when he beheld that their senses had been overcome by the nocturnal festivities he began to speak of the honour and glory of the tribe and went on to list the wrongs they had suffered. His words met with great acclaim and he bonded them together with patriotic oaths and barbaric rites.” This is how the Roman historian Tacitus describes the beginning of the revolt during the 2nd century by the Germanic Batavian tribe against the Romans under the leadership of their chief, Claudius Civilis. The Batavians’ struggle for liberty was used in the 17th century as an emblem for Dutch liberation from Spanish rule. In 1597 the northern provinces seceded from the empire of the Spanish Habsburgs and established a republic “the Seven United Provinces”. Tacitus’s account was chosen as the motif for some of the paintings decorating the walls of Amsterdam’s Town Hall. Begun in 1648, the Town Hall and was the Republic’s largest building project. It was intended to symbolise its power and wealth. The commission to depict the struggle for liberation by their ancestors originally went to Govaert Flinck, one of Rembrandt’s pupils. Flinck had hardly started the work before his sudden and untimely death. Rembrandt was then asked to complete the motif of the oath of loyalty, which was the only one Flinck had started. Following tradition, Flinck placed the Batavians and Romans on equal terms, painting them in classical armour. Rembrandt chose instead to follow Tacitus’s account more closely. In Rembrandt’s interpretation of Tacitus, Claudius Civilis dominates the scene in his costly garments and tall blue and orange headdress. He raises his heavy sword majestically to enable the men around the table to swear their oath of loyalty to him. According to legend, Claudius had lost an eye while prisoner of the Romans. Rembrandt defies tradition by depicting him full-face, so that the lack of one eye cannot be concealed. Rembrandt completed the work in 1662 and the monumental painting was hung in its intended place. Later in the same year it was removed for unknown reasons. There are no contemporary documents to explain why it was not allowed to remain, but a number of scholars believe that Rembrandt’s unconventional presentation did not please those who had commissioned the work. His style, with the use of light and shadow and thick layers of paint, was also somewhat old-fashioned at a time when history painting was increasingly characterised by austere classicism. Today a painting of the same motif by another of Rembrandt’s pupils, Jurian Ovens hangs on the same wall of Amsterdam’s Town Hall. The master’s own bold interpretation can now be seen here, somewhat smaller in size, at the Nationalmuseum. ”Civilis sammankallade stamhövdingarna och frihetskämparna bland folket till en helig lund med en festmåltid som förevändning, och när han såg att den nattliga festyran gripit deras sinnen, började han tala om deras stams heder och ära, och han fortsatte med att räkna upp de oförrätter de lidit. Hans ord väckte stort bifall, och han band dem alla samman genom fosterländska eder och barbariska riter.” Så beskriver den romerske historikern Tacitus början på germanfolket batavernas uppror mot romarna, som ägde rum på 100-talet under ledning av deras stamhövding Claudius Civilis. Batavernas frihetskamp fick under 1600-talet manifestera Hollands frigörelse från det spanska väldet. 1597 bröt sig de sju nordliga provinserna i de spanska habsburgarnas imperium ut och bildade republiken ”De sju förenade provinserna”. Historien valdes som motiv för några av väggdekorationerna i Amsterdams rådhus. Rådhuset påbörjades 1648 och var ett av republikens största byggnadsprojekt. Huset blev en symbol för dess makt och rikedom. Uppdraget att på fyra av rådhusets väggfält skildra förfädernas frihetskamp, gavs ursprungligen till Govaert Flinck, en av Rembrandts elever. Flinck hann knappt påbörja arbetet innan han plötsligt och oväntat avled. Rembrandt blev då ombedd att slutföra motivet med trohetseden, vilket var det enda som Flinck hade påbörjat. Flinck hade följt traditionen och målat bataver och romare som likvärdiga parter i klassiska rustningar. Rembrandt valde istället att mera troget följa Tacitus text. I Rembrandts tolkning av Tacitus behärskar Claudius Civilis scenen genom sina dyrbara kläder och den höga huvudbonad i blått och orange. Majestätiskt höjer han sitt tunga svärd för att låta männen runt bordet svära honom sin trohetsed. Enligt legenden förlorade Claudius sitt ena öga när han satt fängslad hos romarna. Rembrandt trotsar traditionen genom att avbilda hövdingen framifrån så att hans enögdhet inte kan undgå någon. 1662 var Rembrandt klar och den monumentala målningen sattes på plats. Senare samma år togs målningen av okända skäl ned. Det finns inga samtida dokument som förklarar varför målningen inte fick sitta kvar, men flera forskare tror att Rembrandts okonventionella framställningssätt inte uppskattades av beställarna. Rembrandts stil med ljusdunkelmåleri och tjock färgpåläggning var också något omodern i en tid då historiemåleriet alltmer kommit att präglas av en kylig klassicism. Idag pryds väggfältet i Amsterdams rådhus av en målning av samma motiv av ytterligare en elev till Rembrandt, Jurian Ovens. Mästarens egen djärva tolkning av motivet hänger i nedskuret format här på Nationalmuseum.

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• The canvas print: A printed canvas mounted on a wood frame. Furthermore, a canvas print generates a cosy and warm look. The great advantage of canvas prints is that they are relatively low in weight, which means that it is easy and straightforward to hang up the Canvas print without any wall-mounts. Canvas prints are suited for all types of walls.
• Print on glossy acrylic glass (with real glass coating): An acrylic glass print, which is often denoted as a UV print on plexiglass, changes an original work of art into magnificient décor. The work of art is being printed with state-of-the-art UV direct printing machines. It creates deep and rich colors. With a glossy acrylic glass fine art print contrasts as well as artwork details become more exposed thanks to the subtle gradation. Our acrylic glass protects your selected fine art print against sunlight and heat for many more years to come.
• Aluminium dibond: This is a metal print manufactured on aluminium dibond material with an outstanding effect of depth. Its non-reflective surface make a fashionable look. For our Aluminium Dibond option, we print the favorite artpiece right on the surface of the white-primed aluminum composite. Colors are bright and luminous, details of the print appear very clear, and the print has a a matte look that you can literally feel.
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