THE SYNDICS OF THE CLOTH HALL
Questions to arouse interest. What are these men doing? How are they dressed? What makes you think some one has interrupted them? At whom are they looking? Why do you suppose the one syndic has risen? Why do you think the man standing behind the others wears no hat? What do you think his duties were? Which man looks the oldest? the youngest? How has the artist avoided a stiff arrangement of the figures in this painting?
Original Picture: Ryks Museum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Artist: Rembrandt van Rijn (rĕm´ bränt vän rīn´).
Birthplace: Leiden, the Netherlands.
Dates: Born, 1606; died, 1669.
The story of the picture. This picture represents the syndics of the Cloth Merchants’ Guild, in a room of their Guild House, busy going over their accounts. In these days of great corporations and societies of all kinds, it is easy for us to understand what a Cloth Merchants’ Guild might be.
History tells us that as far back as the time of the Romans there were what were called merchants’ corporations or guilds organized for mutual aid and protection. Among the very first known was a fishermen’s guild, in which all the members met and decided the rights of the various members to use the water front, and also, no doubt, planned to take away the privilege from all who were not members.