Syndics of the Drapers' Guild

The Sampling Officials
Dutch: De Staalmeesters

Artist	Rembrandt
Year	1662
Type	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	191.5 cm × 279 cm (75.4 in × 110 in)
Location	Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

The Sampling Officials (Dutch: De Staalmeesters), also called Syndics of the Drapers' Guild, is a 1662 oil painting by Rembrandt. It is currently owned by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.^[1] It has been described as his "last great collective portrait".^[2]

The men (with the exception of Bel who is an attendant as indicated by his calotte) are drapers who were elected to assess the quality of cloth that weavers offered for sale to members of their guild. Their one-year terms in office began on Good Friday and they were expected to conduct their inspections thrice weekly. The Dutch word staal means 'sample' and refers to the samples of cloth that were assessed. The inspectors used pliers to press the seals of their city (front) and guild (reverse) into penny-sized slugs of lead that were specially affixed to record the results of the inspection.^[3] There were four grades of quality, the highest was indicated by pressing four seals and the lowest by pressing only one.

The men, who are appraising a length of Persian-style fabric against exemplars from a swatch book, are (from left to right):

Jacob van Loon (1595–1674)
Volckert Jansz (1605 or 1610–1681)
Willem van Doeyenburg (ca. 1616–1687)
Frans Hendricksz Bel (1629–1701)
Jochem de Neve (1629–1681)
Aernout van der Mye (ca.1625–1681)

The guild commissioned this portrait and it hung in their guild hall, the nl:Staalhof (Amsterdam), until 1771.

The painting is used on the packaging of Dutch Masters cigars.

References

↑ The Sampling Officials. Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. Retrieved on 2008-05-03.
↑ The Worldwide Art Gallery. "Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606 - 1669)". Theartgallery.com.au. Retrieved 2014-04-08.
↑ Juran, Joseph M., ed. (1995), A History of Managing for Quality: The Evolution, Trends, and Future Directions of Managing for Quality, Milwaukee, Wisconsin: The American Society for Quality Control, p. 229, ISBN 9780873893411, OCLC 32394752

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Sampling Officials.

The Sampling Officials at the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
Jacob van Loon biography (in Dutch)
Volckert Jansz biography (in Dutch)
Willem van Doeyenburg biography (in Dutch)
Frans Hendricksz Bel biography (in Dutch)
Aernout van der Mye biography (in Dutch)
Jochem de Neve biography (in Dutch)

Rembrandt

Paintings	The Raising of Lazarus The Stoning of Saint Stephen (1625) History Painting (1626) Balaam and the Ass (1626) The Baptism of the Eunuch (1626) The Artist in his Studio (1628) Self-Portrait (1629) Andromeda Chained to the Rocks (1631) The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp (1631) Old Man with a Gold Chain (c. 1631) Jacob de Gheyn III (1632) Philosopher in Meditation (1632) The Abduction of Europa (1632) Portrait of a Man Rising from His Chair (1633) The Storm on the Sea of Galilee (1633) Descent from the Cross (1633) Joseph and Potiphar's Wife (1634) Diana Bathing with her Nymphs with Actaeon and Callisto (1634) Flora (1634) Artemisia (1634) Pendant portraits of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit (1634) Descent from the Cross (1634) Self-portrait wearing a white feathered bonnet (1635) Belshazzar's Feast (1635) The Prodigal Son in the Brothel (c. 1635) Danaë (1636) The Blinding of Samson (1636) A Polish Nobleman (1637) The Night Watch (1642) Boaz and Ruth (1643) The Woman Taken in Adultery (1644) The Mill (1645–48) The Holy Family with Angels (1645) Susanna and the Elders (1647) Head of Christ (1648) Hundred Guilder Print (1649) The Kitchen Maid (1651) Descent from the Cross (1650–52) Self-portrait (1652) Aristotle with a Bust of Homer (1653) Bathsheba at Her Bath (1654) Virgin and Child with a Cat (1654) Portrait of Jan Six (1654) The Polish Rider (1655) The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Deijman (1656) Portrait of Catharina Hooghsaet (1657) Portrait of a Foreign Admiral (1658) Self-portrait (1658) Moses Breaking the Tablets of the Law (1659) Self-Portrait with Beret and Turned-Up Collar (1659) Self-portrait (1660) The Three Crosses (1660) Ahasuerus and Haman at the Feast of Esther (1660) The Denial of Saint Peter (Rembrandt) (1660) Titus as a Monk (1660) The Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis (1661) St. Matthew and the Angel (1661) Self-portrait as the Apostle Paul (1662) Portrait of Dirck van Os (circa 1662) Self-portrait as Zeuxis Laughing (1662) Syndics of the Drapers' Guild (1662) The Jewish Bride (1664) Self-Portrait with Two Circles (1665–69) The Return of the Prodigal Son (1662–69)

Etchings	Goldweigher's Field Hundred Guilder Print Joseph and Potiphar's Wife (etching) The Three Crosses Virgin and Child with a Cat

Catalogs raisonné:	1908 1935 1968 1986 2014

Other:	Drawings Rembrandt lighting

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