You can feel the courage, swagger and rebelliousness bursting from the canvas! But what else makes The Standard Bearer so special? Come and see it in the Gallery of Honour!

THE STANDARD BEARER

The Standard Bearer is seen as one of Rembrandt’s key works. He was an in-demand portrait painter in Amsterdam at the time, but he wanted to carve a new artistic path for himself – he probably used this painting to showcase his other skills and ambitions.

The brushstrokes are casual, even nonchalant. Together with Rembrandt’s intentional scratches in the paint and his use of light to achieve a three-dimensional effect, they make for a virtuosic display of his unique style. His work was taking a new direction in this period, and The Standard Bearer is really a prelude to The Night Watch. That makes it particularly exciting to have them hanging together in the Rijksmuseum’s Gallery of Honour.

OPENING CELEBRATIONS

A standard bearer stood for something he believed in. What do you stand for? That’s the question we put to all 9 to 12-year-old schoolchildren in the Netherlands. They made their own contemporary banners on themes that are important to them.

Watch the banners over here!

Gallery of Honour

ADDRESS

Museumstraat 1
1071 XX Amsterdam

ACCESSIBILITY

Wheelchair access
Guide dogs allowed
Lifts on every floor

FAQ

Free cloak room
Photography allowed
Free WiFi

All practical info

Where does this painting fit in Rembrandt’s life and work?