On September 5, Rijksmuseum will present "Night Watching," a film installation by Rineke Dijkstra which was created to honor the 350th anniversary of the death of Rembrandt.⠀

Presented as a triptych, the film shows 14 groups of people looking at Rembrandt’s "The Night Watch" and responding to it in their own way – the painting itself never appears. Dijkstra shot "Night Watching" in the museum over the course of six evenings, her subjects positioned directly in front of "The Night Watch" to offer them the most powerful possible experience of the painting. ⠀

Rineke Dijkstra says of her work: "This subtly layered film gradually impresses upon the viewer that it is impossible ever to fully know an artwork –even one as famous as 'The Night Watch' – and that it is always worth sharpening our gaze, whether on a world-famous painting, on people taking part in a contemporary film, or on those we encounter in everyday life.”
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The film will remain on view through December 3, 2019.⠀