The next Rembrandt?

At age 46 Nard Kwast reached the finals of Project Rembrandt, a Dutch TV show. His success didn’t come out of nowhere. Just like Vincent van Gogh, Kwast was a talented draughtsman as a child. So why did it take so long to be discovered?

Devotion is key?

Before van Gogh became a painter he worked as an art dealer for his uncle. After that he prepared himself to become a preacher, living a life he was expected to. But it was inevitable: at age 27 Van Gogh decided he was an artist. Just like that Nard Kwast started off as a car mechanic and later worked in local government until there was no other option but to change course and live his dream. Nard is now a fulltime artist with 24/7 devotion to his art.

Like a historian

Nard Kwast excels in old master reproductions. But how does he achieve his stunning resemblance to the originals? Nard’s personality may be the secret to getting there. His immense passion for 17th century masterpieces drives him to find out exactly how these paintings were constructed. Nard may find descriptions of painting techniques in museum archives. He often produces paints and varnishes himself from scratch, the way it was done centuries ago. Nard used to take cars apart to get to know each bolt inside out and that's exactly how he gets into the minds of Rembrandt, Schelfhout or Van Gogh.

I spy with my little eye

Early October 1885 Van Gogh visited the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam for 3 days to analyze Rembrandt’s technique with his own eyes. These days you may bump into Nard Kwast in any museum in the world with old masters, fully focused to decipher the secrets of his predecessors. Like a historian Kwast is able to detect the DNA of the canvas, paint and varnish to create color and detail of the originals. The process of endless trial and error of brushstrokes is what made him to fully grasp the old masters. And step by step Nard Kwast developed into an artist who is able to give his replicas the grandeur of the originals.

The New Vermeer

On February 12th 2023 Nard Kwast was the winner in The New Vermeer on Dutch television where master painters as well as amateur painters tried to reconstruct one of Vermeer’s missing paintings.

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Nard Kwast old master reproduction
Nard Kwast with his Andreas Schelfhout replica

how to make paints and varnish from scratch
The art of making paints from scratch