Portrait gallery of the Golden Age

Maarten Hell

Thirty colossal, 17th century group portraits from the Amsterdam Museum and the Rijksmuseum collections have been brought together for the first time ever in the Hermitage Amsterdam where they bill be on display from the 29th of November 2014. These brothers and sisters of the Night Watch are unique all over the world and are rarely available to view due to their size. They show us regents, civic guards and merchants of all ranks, social classes and religions, standing together as brothers. Portraits of civic guards including Govert Flinck and Nicolaes Pickenoy are but a few examples of the works of art that will be available to view in this exhibition. Together they illustrate the story of collective citizenship that is so typical of the Netherlands. It's as if they are holding up a mirror to contemporary Dutch society. Because the relationships between the people of the time formed...