Day Watch Description

Rembrandt’s Night Watch is arguably the most famous Dutch painting of the Golden Age. The piece, standing almost twelve feet high and stretching fourteen feet wide, is a commissioned portrait of Captain Frans Banning Cocq and his seventeen members of the civic militia guard. Often mistaken as a night scene, the work actually adopted its name as a result of the darkening that occurred as it aged. The importance of this colossal work lies in Rembrandt's innovative approach. The Night Watch radically portrays each militia member in action according to their role as opposed to the typical sitting portraits of the time. 

Federico Uribe plays on the innovative nature of Night Watch using vivid Italian silk neckties. In Day Watch, the collage of ties that sweep across the canvas echoes the original’s sense of action and movement in psychedelic waves. As the name suggests, there is no mistaking that Federico’s rendition is set during the daytime. Uribe's militia is placed outside under the bright swirling sun and blue sky in direct contrast to the dark interior of the original. Serving as another notable departure, the animals in Day Watch are as numerous and lively as the men. Each animal adds yet another layer of movement, color, and action that help Day Watch channel the originality and liveliness of Night Watch with a signature whimsy.