Watch A Flash Mob Recreate Rembrandt In A Dutch Mall

The flashmob was celebrating the return of a Rembrandt painting to the Rijksmuseum

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While flash mobs in the United States have generally revolved around things like The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Reading Rainbow or the Harlem Shake, a culturally-minded group staged a high-art flashmob to celebrate the return of Rembrandt Van Rijn’s famous paintingĀ The Night Watch to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

The group stormed a shopping center in the southern Dutch city of Breda, surprising shoppers by recreating the 17th century masterpiece. For the event, the mall was infiltrated by men dressed in period garb, including some who descended from the shopping center’s balconies on ropes and others who filed in charging after a man seemingly fleeing their pursuit. Amid the chaos were a sea of shoppers shocked and bemused by the historical reenactment.

Rembrandt’s painting was completed in 1642 and depicts Captain Frans Banning Cocq and his lieutenant, Willem van Ruytenburch, leading out their city guard. The Rijksmuseum is due to reopen on April 13th following a 10-year renovation.

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