RIJKSMUSEUM

Description

Essentials about the Rijksmuseum in brief

Many people travel to Amsterdam just to see this museum. The Rijksmuseum is one of the most important art museums in the world and is therefore the tourist highlight of Amsterdam. Every year, more than two million visitors come to see Rembrandt’s Night Watch and, above all, the masterpieces of Dutch painting from the Golden Age. However, the Rijksmuseum is not only a pure art museum, but also documents the rich history of the Netherlands and its former colonies with thousands of exhibits.

The history of the Rijksmuseum

The museum was founded in The Hague in 1800 to exhibit the collections of the Dutch governors. The foundation was inspired by the French models of the era. The institution was eventually brought to Amsterdam on the orders of King Louis Bonaparte, who had chosen the city as his residence. At this time, paintings of the city of Amsterdam also entered the collection, including the museum’s most famous painting: The Night Watch by Rembrandt van Rijn.

In the mid-19th century, an architectural competition was held for a new museum building, from which Pierre Cuypers eventually emerged as the winner. His design was a combination of Gothic and Renaissance elements. The building was given rich decorations, both inside and out, based on Dutch art history. Construction of the new Rijksmuseum began in 1876 and was completed in 1885. The museum also gave its name to the adjacent Museumsplein (Museum Square), where two more of Amsterdam’s top museum attractions, the Van Gogh Museum and the Stedelijk Museum, are located today.

The collections of the Rijksmuseum

The Rijksmuseum is the national museum of Holland, which tells the history of the country from the Middle Ages to the present day. The museum’s collections contain over one million objects from the arts, crafts and history from the years 1200 to 2000. Around 8,000 of the exhibits are spread across four floors and 80 halls in the museum. By far the most famous part of the collection is the more than 2,000 paintings from the Dutch Golden Age by masters such as Jacob van Ruisdael, Frans Hals, Johannes Vermeer, Jan Steen and, of course, Rembrandt van Rijn.

In addition, the museum has many exhibits on the colonial history of the Netherlands and from art in the former Dutch colonial territories. For lovers of ship models, the hall of naval models with about 1,600 objects is certainly a highlight. And porcelain fans will be amazed by the overwhelming collection of Delft porcelain, from tea sets to vases.

If so many art highlights make you hungry, you should definitely visit the museum restaurant. It is one of the best in the world (and can be visited even without an admission ticket to the museum). And last but not least, a hint for all those for whom the 8,000 exhibits in the Rijksmuseum are too few. Those who want to immerse themselves in the museum’s entire collection can do so via the museum’s website. High-resolution images and more information about the exhibits are available via the Rijksstudio platform.