Technically, "Rijksmuseum" comprises of a series of museums maintained by the Dutch government, but the most famous Rijksmuseum is the one situated in Museumplein, Amsterdam. It is the largest art museum in the Netherlands as well as one of the most prestigious art museums in Europe. While the museum's permanent collection houses 8,000 objects spanning 800 years of Dutch history from 1200 to the present, it is most well known for its paintings produced during the 17th century, more commonly referred to as the "Dutch Golden Age". This time period saw Dutch painters move away from painting religious scenes and focused on portraits, landscapes, genre painting (scenes from everyday life) and still life. Art had become more affordable to the commonfolk and it was no longer unusual for a middle-class family to have one or two paintings in their homes.
LOGISTICS
- Hours: 9am to 5pm all days of the year.
- Cost: €19.00 online, €20 at the door. It is *strongly recommended*/essentially required that you purchase your ticket beforehand. There's definitely a line to get in, especially during peak season.
- Included in the Museumkaart and I Amsterdam City Card.
- Multimedia guide: additional €5. You can also download app on your phone to avoid paying.
- Guided Tour "Highlights of the Rijksmuseum" - €24 (including ticket). Daily tour offered at 11am and 3pm every day and at more frequent intervals during weekends and the weeks during summer holidays.
- Notably missing: Girl with a Pearl Earring (Mauritshuis, The Hague).
I love learning about European history and art and travel has been my best teacher since I didn't pay much attention in class but when I visited the Rijksmuseum I felt a bit... overwhelmed. It didn't help that the tour guide only concentrated primarily on the Gallery of Honor with only one painting (a self-portrait of Van Gogh) outside the gallery. It also didn't help that I visited the Van Gogh museum first and I was rushing to get that done so that I could have lunch and still be in time for the 1pm tour. Note to self: Come back here and research the highlight pieces before entering.
The Rijksmuseum is a huge museum. To help you understand the art there's the aforementioned audioguide and there are placards in Dutch and English of the various highlight pieces. Additionally I purchased the Rick Steves' Amsterdam guidebook and there's a chapter giving a walk on the art in this museum. Given this the visitor experience still left me overwhelmed - conversely I had more positive experiences at the other two major Amsterdam museums the Van Gogh and Anne Frank House. Even the other major Dutch art museum, the Mauritshuis in The Hague, organized their collection better. At least much of the artwork here is secular in nature compared to other art museums in Flanders (southern half of the "Low Countries") or Italy, so that was a huge relief. It's nice to look at art for art's sake as opposed to reiterate religious concepts that have no meaning for me.
Highlights include:
- Anything from the Gallery of Honor made by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Steen and Hals. Noteworthy exception: The Threatened Swan by Jan Asselijn, which is a fine example of political allegory. My favorite artworks here involved newlywed couples.
- The Night Watch. One of the most famous paintings in the world, it depicts a city militia guard with a captain and his men. Sorry folks, no Jon Snow, freefolk or White Walkers here. Currently the painting is undergoing an extensive conservation/research process, which involves the painting being sealed inside thick glass as it is being scanned slowly by X rays.
- Cuypers Library, the biggest and oldest art history library in The Netherlands.
- Doll houses featuring rooms and objects made to scale featuring the same materials as their regular-sized counterparts.
- A Van Gogh portrait that you can actually take a picture of (as the nearby Van Gogh Museum doesn't allow photos)
- Asian pavilion featuring artworks from China, Japan, Indonesia, India, Vietnam and Thailand.
Another major mistake on my first visit was that I spent too much time on the paintings inside the Gallery of Honor. Because of this I had limited time to spend in the other parts of the museum. I definitely rushed through the dollhouses and the Asian pavilion; a subsequent visit will have me being more thorough in those areas.
No visit to Amsterdam is complete without visiting the Rijksmuseum but make sure you do your research beforehand before entering. 3 hours is certainly not enough to enjoy the highlights, much less everything else. If you plan your time wisely you will get a better understanding of the highlights of the museum's permanent collection. read more