by Brooke Wolfe

Created on: April 11, 2009

Rembrandt's Oath of Claudius Civilus

The history surrounding Rembrandt's oath of Claudius Civilus is an ambiguous one, full of many truths, lies, and ironies. The painting was intended for one of eight lunettes in the interior of the Amsterdam town hall and place there briefly between 1661 and 1662. However it was taken off but down to the remaining portrait (fig. 110) and replaced with a much less worthy work by Rembrandt's pupil, Jurriaen Ovens (fig. T). The story of its rejection is interwoven with many conflicts and attempts to rationalize the irrational, but Rembrandt's genius almost always justifies these apparent faults. In his state of justification, the only reason the burgomasters and their councils would have had to reject Rembrandt's only monumental history painting was that it was simply too good for them; a painting too far ahead of its time in technique and symbolism to be appreciated by nave public.

The city of Amsterdam was growing in population and continuing to build economic prosperity. The city hall of the middle ages burned down in 1395. New architects decided to leave its Brabant gothic style with its ashes. Jacob van Campen designed the new building in neoclassical style and the Palladio style of Solomon's. Classical ideals were growing increasingly popular in the Netherlands in the middle of the 17th century. Because of their battles with Spain, Dutch people felt tied to the Batavians and translations of Tacitus's texts were printed in 1612, 1614, 1616, and 1630; this gave Rembrandt plenty of time to read about the subject. The pointed gothic arches of the old structure were replaced with Greek-like pediments and pilaster engaged columns attached to the wall for vertical emphasis. Its symmetry and central protruding bay served as symbols of triumph and solemnity. All decoration inside of the building was likewise to be symbolic of the Dutch Republic. The painting Argo Sails Home is a baroque representation of the city's trade. There is no main door because Amsterdam is the chief city of the republic and the seven arches stand for the seven provinces. There are basically three themes in the interior paintings. One is the sea paying tribute to Holland in the East; another is the continents paying tribute in the western lintel. There were to have been paintings of Aurora fleeing before Apollo in the East hall, one of Diana driving her chariot up to the heavens in the West, one of Neptune calming the waves, and one of Jupiter.
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