One of the most interesting places in Amsterdam is the building of the Rijksmuseum, whose name in Dutch sounds like Rijksmuseum. It is included in the list of the largest art museums in the country, and is also popular in the world community, as it houses a large collection of works by the famous artist Rembrandt. In addition, about 5,000 paintings and 30,000 sculptures, drawings and engravings that cannot be found anywhere else are on display for the public to see, the main collection being works representing contemporary art.

Before the Rijksmuseum took on its modern form, it had to undergo many changes: initially it was 200 works of historical value that remained after the Netherlands was defeated by France in 1794. They formed the National Art Gallery, which opened in 1800 in the suburbs of The Hague. During the reign of Louis Bonaparte, in 1808, Amsterdam became the capital, and he named the gallery the Royal Museum and moved it to the city hall. Afterwards the museum was still called the Great Dutch Museum, and when the French were completely expelled from the country, it acquired a name that it never changed - the Rijksmuseum or the State Museum. This happened in 1817. But for a long time they could not find a building for the museum: it was located in Trippenhaus, but due to the constantly increasing number of exhibits, this became inconvenient, and the proximity of kerosene warehouses also played a role. As a result, a building was erected according to Kuipers' design, and the opening took place in 1885, but this structure has also undergone many changes to this day.

Museum exhibits

The museum houses a rich art and historical collection, as well as a collection of engravings, drawings and photographs, which are housed in 260 rooms.

The art collection is represented by sculptures, paintings and works of decorative art, including those of Asian origin. It is based on the works of Dutch masters dating from the 15th to 19th centuries.

Among the most valuable paintings, works by Dutch artists took their place of honor: Remrandt, van Scorel, Jan Steen, Frans Hals, Vermeer, van der Gelst.

"Night Watch" by Remrandt

The main place in the exhibition belongs to Remrandt’s painting “The Night Watch”, the full title of which is “The Performance of the Rifle Company of Captain Frans Banning Cock and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburg”. The canvas was painted by the master in 1642 (during the heyday of Dutch painting) by order of the Shooting Society. The painting, depicting 34 characters who seem to be stepping on the viewer, turned out to be so large (363 * 437 centimeters) that part of it with three characters had to be cut off.

Vermeer's surviving legacy

Four paintings by one of the original Dutch artists - Vermeer - are of great value, because they were saved from being sold at auction for debts, the fate of which befell about 30 other paintings by the great master. It is not for nothing that Vermeer enjoys the fame of the most mysterious artist of the Netherlands: his paintings, depicting the home life of the townspeople, breathe mystery and ambiguity. Particular attention is drawn to two paintings by Vermeer - “Street” and “Maid with a Jug of Milk”. However, “Girl Reading a Letter” and “Love Letter”, no less than the above-mentioned paintings, attract the attention of visitors.

The great portrait painter Frans Hals

A significant place in the museum’s collection is occupied by paintings by the famous 17th-century portrait painter Frans Hals, who depicted on his canvases the faces of people from different walks of life: from ordinary merchants to burghers and officers. “The Cheerful Drinking Buddy” is one of those paintings for which art connoisseurs come to Amsterdam.

Museum for the curious

By visiting the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, you will have a unique opportunity to discover a world of art, as beautiful and mysterious as the paintings of Remrandt, and amazingly accurate as the portraits of Hals.

Schedule:

Monday-Sunday: 9:00-18:00

The largest city in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Amsterdam has no shortage of museums. Their collections are extremely interesting and even unique. Well, where else in the world will you see a sex museum? And in Amsterdam it is. And besides this, a less shocking one is available to the eyes of visitors. The Dutch have very open views in this regard. In this country, prostitutes even have their own trade union. However, this article will talk about quite decent things. We will take a virtual excursion to the State Museum. Amsterdam acquired it at the very beginning of the nineteenth century. This is truly an ancient museum with a rich collection. Below you will find some practical recommendations for visitors and a short list of masterpieces.

Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam, Holland): history

The Rijksmuseum was founded by Louis Bonaparte (Napoleon's brother) in 1800. It did not remain in the private collection for long. Fifteen years later, its exhibition became open to the public. Initially, the Rijksmuseum was located in the capital of the kingdom, The Hague. The core of the exhibition consisted of two hundred paintings, and occupied a small house. But with the help of patrons, the collection grew steadily. The museum changed its location several times until it finally settled in Amsterdam. In 1885, a new building was built especially for it. Outwardly, it looks more like a fairy-tale princess castle than a museum. The project of the building in the neo-Gothic style was created by the famous Dutch architect Pieter Kuipers.

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam: address, opening hours, prices

The Rijksmuseum is located in the very center of the city. Its exact address is the corner of Museumstraat and Museumplein. From the main train station it can be easily reached by tram line 2 or 5. Get off at the Hobbemastraat stop. If you arrive in Amsterdam at Sloterdijk station, then from there you can take tram number 12 (Concerthebouw) to the cultural institution. The closest metro station to the museum is Weissperplein. Next you need to get there by tram number 7 or 10 ("Spichelchracht"). You can also get to Museum Square by bus routes 26, 66, 65, 172 and 170. Shuttle number 197 from (stop "Hobbemastraat") also passes by. If you are traveling to Amsterdam with your own or rented vehicle, you need to take the S109 from the A10 ring road. Below the square there is paid underground parking for those visiting the Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam). The opening hours of this cultural institution are from nine to seventeen, daily. Persons under eighteen years of age inclusive can visit the museum absolutely free. Adults will have to fork out seventeen and a half euros.

Modern amenities at the Rijksmuseum

All exhibition halls are available to people. Tickets can be purchased online on the official website. This will not save money, but it will save time standing in long queues, which are a mandatory attribute of the Rijksmuseum, especially in the summer months. At the ticket office you can book excursions on various topics. If you do not speak foreign dialects, you can download a media tour for your mobile device. Audio guides can also be rented at the ticket office. They are available in Russian. These are thematic tours “Masterpieces”, “Drinks and Food of the Golden Age” and “Selected Works of Jeroen Krabbe”. You can join a group excursion to the Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam). Photo and video shooting is permitted. The main condition is no flash.

Exhibition diagram of the Rijksmuseum

For ten years, from 2003 to 2013, the Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam) was closed for reconstruction. Now the updated exhibition consists of several collections. Its core is the “Masterpieces” exhibition. It contains the best paintings by Dutch masters of the Golden Age - Van Dyck, Jan Veermeer, Jan Stein. The art collection presents an interesting selection of decorative arts, including Delft porcelain. A special place is occupied by a pavilion dedicated to Asia. In it you can see bronze Buddha figurines, wooden boxes from Korea and similar artifacts. The historical collection displays objects found during the course. In addition, there are permanent exhibitions of photographs, prints and drawings.

Masterpieces of the Rijksmuseum

The Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam) is the largest art gallery in the country. Five thousand paintings, 30,000 sculptural compositions, and many historical artifacts are displayed in two hundred and sixty halls. Therefore, if you are short on time, take the Masterpieces audio tour and head to the hall called Nacht wacht zaal. This room was created in 1906 specifically for this painting. The epic painting “The Night Watch” by Rembrandt is a pearl of which the Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam) is rightly proud. Paintings by other Dutch masters from the Middle Ages to the nineteenth century occupy the rooms next door. Must-sees include four paintings by Vermeer, Van Eyck's "Gothic Temple with Figures" and Luke of Leiden's "Sermon in the Church."

Arts and Crafts Wing

Porcelain from the small Dutch town of Delft is another pride of the State Museum. The exhibition represents not only tableware and stove tiles. Of particular interest are two with a full set of furniture and interior items. Boys will be delighted by the weapons exhibition.

Along with the main collection of the Rijksmuseum, the digital recording includes five new exhibitions dedicated to the jeweler Jan Lutma, the artists Jan Steen, Jan Vermeer, Rembrandt van Rijn and, separately, the monumental painting “The Night Watch”, the pride of the museum.

Night Watch, or Performance of the Rifle Company of Captain Frans Banning Kok and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburg.
Rembrandt Van Rijn.

A thousand international institutions cooperate with the Google Cultural Institute project. The portal's annual traffic exceeds 40 million people. The Rijksmuseum's own website attracts six million visitors a year.

A woman with a child in a storeroom.
Pieter de Hooch.

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is one of the largest European museums and is one of the top 20 most visited galleries in the world. It was founded in 1808 by the King of Holland Louis Bonaparte - brother of Napoleon I. The institution owns an impressive collection of masterpieces by Dutch painters - the already mentioned Rembrandt, Vermeer and Steen, as well as Frans Hals, Pieter de Hooch, Jacob van Ruisdael, Bartholomeus van der Gelst, Jan van Scorel and others.


Jan Vermeer. Thrush.

The pearls of the treasury are four canvases by Vermeer (in total, 35 of his paintings are considered authentic in the world, several more are in question), the main one among which is “The Milkmaid”. This is one of the most famous works of the master from Delft, painted approximately 1658-1661.

In 2012, the Rijksmuseum digitized 125 thousand of these treasures and posted them online on its portal. As part of the Rijksstudio project, users can study the details of the paintings and the history of their composition.

Anyone can start their own online gallery, freely download works of art to their taste and use them at their own discretion, for example, make a reproduction. It also contains links to sites where you can order any prints.

To access the digital archive, simply create a free account on the museum's website.

“Art is free and should be as accessible as T-shirts.”, says the Rijksmuseum policy.


Jan van Scorel. Mary Magdalene.


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Text: natalya-51

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Rijksmuseum

Official website of the museum: rijksmuseum.nl
Address: Jan Luijkenstraat 1, 1071 CJ Amsterdam

The Rijksmuseum (Rijks Museum) in Amsterdam has existed for over two hundred years and is today one of the most interesting museums in the world. The very first exhibition of the museum was opened to the public in 1800 (at that time the museum was named Nationale Kunstgallerij - National Gallery of Art). Since then, it has moved several times before its own museum building, at that time called the Royal Museum, was built in Amsterdam in 1808 by order of King Louis Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother, of the Netherlands. It received its modern name later, in 1815, by a special decree of King William I. In 1885, the Rijksmuseum moved to a beautiful building built by the Dutch architect Petrus Cuypers JH, in the neo-Renaissance style fashionable at that time.

The museum's unique collection, accumulated over centuries, contains many masterpieces of Dutch and world art. Here you can see the magnificent “Night Watch” by Rembrandt, several paintings by Vermeer, Van Dyck and Jan Steen. The museum has a rare collection of Asian art, an extensive collection of prints, drawings and classical photography.

Currently, the main building of the museum is under reconstruction, which will be completed in the spring of 2013. All the most important paintings from the museum's collection can be seen on display in the museum wing, renovated in 1996, located on the corner of Jan Luijkenstraat and Hobbemastraat.

Photo and video filming within the walls of the museum is prohibited. Tickets can be purchased in advance, even several months in advance, through the museum’s official website.

A small exhibition of paintings from the Rijksmuseum collection is on display in the terminal of Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. You can visit it after passing through passport control. Free admission.

National Museum of the Netherlands - Rijksmuseum

In the famous Dutch Rijksmuseum, in one room next door there are works by Scorel and portraits created by his student Maarten Van Heemskerck. The portrait depicts a wealthy merchant from Amsterdam, Peter Bikker, together with his 26-year-old wife Anna Codde.

This is one of the most beautiful portraits ever painted in Holland. A young woman, dressed in the fashion of those years, is depicted near a spinning wheel and with her delicate fingers lightly holds the thinnest white thread. In the first third of the 16th century, such a spinning wheel, equipped with a wheel drive, was the latest invention and was found very rarely and only in the houses of wealthy citizens occupying a fairly high social position. The record further states that the portrait was made in 1529, when Dirk Jacobs and Cornelis Theunissen created the famous group portraits of members of the shooting guild. It is worth noting that these portraits were very typical at that time.

There was a strong cultural connection between the northern and southern provinces in the 16th century. This is evidenced by the work of Peter Aartsen, born in Amsterdam. While still a young man, he moved to the large city of Flanders - Antwerp, and it was there that he became widely known as the founder of the everyday genre in Europe. Later he returned to his homeland and continued working in a realistic direction. The Rijksmuseum contains a fragment of the painting “The Adoration of the Shepherds”. The museum exhibits include several more paintings by Aartsen, incl. "Dance Among the Eggs" This is a typical everyday scene from rural life. In a village tavern, a thin boy began to dance in front of a burning fireplace. Scattered around are eggshells, oyster shells and wilted wildflowers. Another merry fellow holds a glass of wine in one hand, and placed the other on the shoulder of a young maid. By his appearance, you can understand that he is loudly singing a daring song. The canvas was written to glorify the joy of peasant life, but the modest environment surrounding the visitors to the tavern, the constraint in their movements, does not give us the opportunity to feel this. There is some tension in this gaiety. Only the girl, probably copied from life, demonstrates her spontaneity and naturalness.

Artsen's works were an innovation: in European countries no one had ever tried to paint a picture on the theme of peasant life and the poor, but after a short time he had followers. One of them was his student Joachim Beikelar (1543 - 1573) from Antwerp. The Rijksmuseum has a large painting of his work called “Kitchen”. A scene from the Gospel is depicted in a small room. But the main theme is a huge still life that filled almost the entire canvas. Sausages, chickens and turkeys are hung above the table. A couple of beautiful slender maids, possibly based on the same model, resemble Aartsen's heroines.

Thus, in Dutch art of the 16th century, new genres emerged, associated with the depiction of various aspects of life: everyday scenes, still life, landscape. In the 17th century they reached the peak of their prosperity. And at this time art is divided into two parts. The different historical developments of the two parts of the Netherlands at this time lead to the formation of two different art schools.

In the 17th century, the work of Hendrik Averkamp was popular, specializing in finely painted small-sized drawings of a winter landscape with small human figures. There are peasants and fashionable dandies here. Some are holding on perfectly on the bluish sparkling ice, but others have fallen. The beauty of winter nature appears before the audience in all its glory. The canvas combines everyday genre and landscape.

Esaias Van de Velde’s small picture “Society in the Park” evokes the same feelings. This is an ordinary life devoid of any bright events. Joyful, fashionably dressed young people had a party in the middle of a beautiful park. Velde pays great attention to the reproduction of dishes, greenery of bushes, everything that makes life more beautiful. Velde worked in Haarlem together with the most important Dutch artist of that era, Frans Hals.

For painting of the 17th century. characterized by a kind of realism. Painters strive to poeticize the world around them. They depict certain objects, achieving virtuosity. Some paint the sea, others the expanses of fields, others household utensils, buildings or rural gatherings.

The craftsmen tried to comprehend the unique charm of everyday objects. People who have an idea about the history of Dutch painting will recognize the paintings by visiting the museum.

Mostly the sea and ships were painted here, which is quite natural for a coastal state, in whose life fishing and travel play a large role. At the beginning of the 17th century. The small state of the Netherlands was a powerful power, and its prosperity was largely based on trade with distant countries.

The founder of Marinism was Hendrik Wrom. His large canvas in the Rijksmuseum represents the dispatch of a naval squadron to the East Indies in 1598. In the center of the painting is a “portrait” of the flagship of the squadron, the Mauritius, which is executed with great precision. Perhaps Vrom achieved this accuracy, since in his youth he was a sailor, and then accepted numerous orders from sailors and shipowners. Dutch artists did not limit themselves to exact copying. Reliability is always highly valued, but the tasks of painting are somewhat different. This is not a photograph: the artist brings into the work his understanding of the beauty of nature, his love for mountains and fields, the salty sea breeze, and the constantly changing position of clouds in the sky.

Van Goyen is famous for his small painting "View of Dordrecht". A cathedral with a tower under construction and the wings of dozens of windmills rises above one of the ancient towns. The city itself seems to be shifted into the air shrouded in a foggy haze. This magic of evening lighting on the surface of the water is simply mesmerizing. Guyen lowers the horizon, and the sky occupies about eighty percent of the painting's area, which is why it appears infinitely high. The mobility of the clouds is incomparably conveyed on the canvas. The air that seems to envelop all the depicted objects is the most remarkable achievement of Dutch landscape painters.

A special place in the painting of this period is occupied by images of animals. Animal painters appeared who were excellent at painting landscapes. The most talented of them, who passed away at the age of 29, was Paul Potter. The museum displays his small-sized painting “Horses in the Pasture,” which evokes the idea of ​​endless expanses of fields. In the slender stallion, Potter saw the perfection of nature.

Jan Asselein created the large canvas “Swan in Danger”. The snow-white swan, protecting its nest and offspring, arched its beautiful neck and beats its wings with such force that feathers fly around it. The head of a swimming dog is visible next to him. A few years later, the owner of the painting ordered an explanation to be written on the plate at the bottom of the painting. Many assumed that the swan personified Jan de Witt, who practically stood at the head of the state. Thus, a scene from the life of birds turned into a topical political allegory. "Swan in Peril" was the first painting acquired in 1800 for the National Gallery of Art.

The Rijksmuseum houses a large collection of paintings by the great Rembrandt. At the end of the 19th century. here were his major works such as “Night Watch”, “The Jewish Bride” and others. But the total number of his works was small. At the end of the last century, this collection was supplemented and expanded. Several paintings were purchased or received as a gift. Some canvases were given to the museum for display. For example, “Blind Tobit and Anna with a Kid.” Nearby are works by Rembrandt's students.

In Amsterdam, not far from the Rembrandt House, there is a magnificent mansion of the rich man Jan Six. The descendants of Jan Six take great care of the famous portrait of their ancestor, painted by Rembrandt in 1654. A black felt hat goes perfectly with reddish hair, and a dark camisole goes well with a bright blue raincoat. The extraordinary breadth of strokes seemed strange at that time, and the work unfinished. Six probably had a broad view of art to appreciate the perfection of this pictorial sketch.

In the painting, Six is ​​preparing to leave the house, he has already put on his raincoat. But all his actions occur automatically, since his calm face expresses thoughtfulness and a certain detachment. On this canvas you can see a huge range of different painting techniques that Rembrandt skillfully uses.

Amsterdam Reichmuseum(Rijksmuseum) is the largest in the Netherlands and throughout Europe. Its huge area displays paintings and objects from various countries and eras. 260 halls house 30,000 sculptures, 5,000 paintings, engravings, drawings, household items and archaeological objects. You will find the museum plan in the attached file below, in pdf format.

The most famous paintings of the Amsterdam State Museum

The most famous painting exhibited here is considered "The night Watch" Rembrandt (1642). It is also the largest painting on display, although it was partially trimmed in the 18th century. All the characters depicted are very symbolic, and still contain many mysteries. Exhibition hall "Nacht wacht zaal".

The second most popular among visitors is the Vermeer. It is difficult to assess which of his 4 remaining paintings attracts more viewers: “ Thrush", "Love Letter", "Little Street", "Girl Reading a Letter"" They, as well as sketches for these creations, can be seen in the Eregalerij hall.

One of the first exhibits of the museum was the creation of Jan van Eyck "Gothic temple with figures" Now, going to the “Gothic” wing, you can admire this rarity.

Several works by Luke of Leiden, a famous Dutch artist of the early 16th century, are exhibited in the halls. In particular, his brushes belong to"Sermon in Church".

Goya's paintings, for example, "Portrait of Don Ramon de Posado" can be seen in room 1.13. Recent X-ray studies have revealed another master's creation under a layer of paint.

Original statue "Sitting Cupid"(1757), also known as “L"Amour Menaçant” - “The Threatening Cupid” by Falconet is exhibited in the Reichmuseum in room 1.9.

Of course, the State Museum is not a museum of eroticism or a museum of sex. But here, too, there is an exhibition “Immoral Women” that is similar in theme. This includes the picture "Lot and His Daughters"(Hendrik Goltzius, 1616). You can see the plot of the biblical legend in hall 2.1.

The museum also displays images of Asian gods, for example buddha figurine sitting in a niche. This composition was carved from a single piece of black limestone over 1000 years ago. The creation of an unknown author can be appreciated in the Asia hall.

Quite modern jewelry in the Art Nouveau style also found its place in the halls. For example, "Comb in the shape of two dragonflies"(1904) is located in room 0.9 – Z8.04.