The Rijksmuseum
The Rijksmuseum
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
MASTERPIECES FROM THE DUTCH ART WORLD
The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is a Dutch national museum that will be right up your street if you’re something of an art aficionado. You can admire well-known masterpieces by Rembrandt and Vermeer and learn about the history of the Netherlands in its heyday. The incredible selection of artwork guarantees a fun day out for all the family (even the kids)!
Opening hours: Daily, 9.00 a.m. – 5.00 p.m
Online ticket for EUR 23.50 (no entry to the Vermeer exhibition)
Ticket for the Vermeer exhibition: EUR 32 (not available anymore)
-> Currently, the tickets for Vermeer are sold out.
My Rating:
The positives:
The building and collection of Dutch art is simply stunning. It is right at the top of the list of must-visit attractions for experts and families alike.
The negatives:
If you’re looking for international artwork like at the Louvre or Vatican Museums, you’ll probably be a bit disappointed.
Top Tip:
There’s something for everyone. And at times it feels like everyone has come to see for themselves all at once. So buy your ticket online before your visit!
Last Modified: 21.03.2023 | Céline
RIJKSMUSEUM
Tickets
Century Exhibition
Vermeer
Sold Out
Vermeer
Exhibition at the Rijksmuseum
February 10 to June 4, 2023
In the Centennial Exhibition at the Rijksmuseum you can admire 28 of these 37 works in ONE exhibition for the first time!
This has never happened before!
The highlights of the exhibition:
the milkmaid
the girl with a pearl earring (unfortunately she will only be part of the exhibition until March 30th)
the geographer
the lacemaker
Girl reading a letter at the open window
Everything important at a glance
- The standard Rijksmuseum ticket does not entitle you to visit the exhibition
- The Vermeer ticket is generally more expensive, but entitles you to visit the permanent collection – just choose your time wisely
- Unfortunately, the ticket via Tiqets is even a bit more expensive. But you would support the work on my website. So thanks in advance! 😀
- Group tours are not permitted in the exhibition
- There is no audio guide
- There is a separate entrance for the exhibition in the passage under the museum.
I have visited the exhibition! You can find my overview article on it here.
| Rijksmuseum Tickets | Price | Information | Buy Ticket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online-Ticket | EUR 23.50 | Admission + skip the line (Vermeer not included) | Buy Ticket |
| Amsterdam Digital Pass | EUR 62 | Admission Rijksmuseum + Admission Van Gogh Museum + 1 hour boat trip + App for a city walk + 10 % off on other products (without Vermeer) | Buy Ticket |
| Vermeer Ticket | EUR 32 | Admission to the Vermeer Exhibition + rest of the museum | sold out |
| Guided Tour | EUR 49.50 | Guided tour in English, duration: 2 hours (Vermeer not included) | Buy Ticket |
| COMBI-TICKET | EUR 45.50 | Admission Rijksmuseum + Admission Van Gogh Museum (Vermeer not included) | Buy Ticket |
The details
at a glance
I Amsterdam Pass
Free entry to A’dam Lookout with the I Amsterdam Card!
Reservation of a time slot is required (choose the free fare)
-> More information about the card
Rijksmuseum
Photo Gallery
WHAT IS THERE
TO SEE?
The Rijksmuseum is a massive building and really quite spectacular to look at from the outside. When you step inside the huge entrance hall of this magnificent national museum, you get a real taste of what’s to come.
Spread over three floors, the collection covers everything from antique Shiva statues to a Mondrian dress by Yves Saint-Laurent. The museum has a very different feel to the Louvre or KHM Vienna because it’s all about the history of the Netherlands. The focus is predominantly (but not exclusively) on northern artists like Rembrandt, Vermeer and Jan Steen along with art and artefacts that reflect the country’s strength and power back in the 17th century. Think items from the colonies, paintings depicting Holland’s naval prowess, and massive group pictures, including ones by Rembrandt and Frans Hals that show off the guilds and their influence back in the day.
The Gallery of Honour may just be the most important room inside the Rijksmuseum. Home to the crème de la crème, it is lined with one Vermeer and Rembrandt after the other. The star of the show? That would have to be ‘The Night Watch’ by Rembrandt. When we visited, this painting was being stored in a glass case because a team of experts were using cutting-edge technology to restore it.
The Rijksmuseum really does have something for everyone. Real art connoisseurs are sure to be taken with the well-known and not-so-well-known works of art. And if you’re looking to just focus on the best bits, you’ll love Rembrandt’s ‘The Night Watch’ and Vermeer’s ‘The Milkmaid’. Even the littlest visitors will be kept entertained if they are sent off to search for animals or ships or asked to spot all the bugs in the many still lifes.
THE MILKMAID by Vermeer
learn more
The Nightwatch by Rembrandt
learn more
A bit of History
learn more JAN VERMEER
THE MILKMAID’ (1660)
THE MILKMAID’ (1660)
Oil on canvas, 45.5 cm × 41 cm
Jan Vermeer van Delft only painted 37 pieces in his lifetime. His most famous works are without doubt ‘The Girl with a Pearl Earring’ (on display at the Mauritshuis in The Hague and the inspiration behind the film of the same name), ‘The Lacemaker’ (on display at the Louvre) and ‘The Milkmaid’ here at the Rijksmuseum.
The sound of silence prevails in this painting. The milk being poured from the jug in the maid’s hand into another container is all we can hear. Loaves and rolls are prepared, perhaps ready to be served to the master of the house with the milk. The maid is looking down and concentrating on pouring. The light shining through the window falls onto the right-hand side of her face.
Vermeer took a scene from everyday life and made a simple maid the focal point of his painting. A simple scene indeed and in an empty room… And yet somehow it draws you in and holds your attention. You can almost hear the milk, feel the heat coming from the kitchen and smell the freshly baked bread.
Another painting by Vermeer is ‘GIRL WITH A LETTER’ (1663), also to be found in the Rijksmuseum.
Rembrandt
THE NIGHT WATCH
‘THE NIGHT WATCH’ BY REMBRANDT (1642)
Oil on canvas, 379.5 cm × 453.5 cm
Arguably the most famous painting on display at the Rijksmuseum is Rembrandt’s ‘The Night Watch’. Gosh, you could write an entire essay describing the people, image composition, background and so much more at great length. But let’s just focus on the main (fun) facts here… Ideally, check out the painting for yourself and soak up the information provided by the audio guide.
- The painting’s title was originally a little longer: ‘Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq’, also known as ‘The Shooting Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch’. And that really sums up the story behind the picture. A marksmen’s guild commissioned the painting, which explains why there are so many people and so many weapons. The main characters are: Captain Frans Banninck Cocq (dressed in black with a red sash) and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburch (dressed in yellow with a white sash, a partisan in his hand and a bevor around his neck). ‘The Night Watch’ is a nickname that came about later on, when people started to interpret the painting as a night-time scene.
- This painting is one of the finest examples of Dutch group portraits. It features 31 people, including a whole load of soldiers and four children. Rembrandt even makes an appearance! Can you spot him?
- Traditionally, everyone in group portraits like this one would stare out of the painting. But Rembrandt ignored that rule and the only three people that are actually looking directly out are Frans Banninck Cocq, the eldest of the two girls and the drummer on the far right. The people in this group portrait are busy. Rather than just standing around, they are chatting, cleaning weapons and even shooting them. This was another departure from the norm. Rembrandt brought his characters to life instead of leaving them stiffly staring out into space.
- A 31-year-old escaped psychiatric patient sprayed sulphuric acid on ‘The Night Watch’ in April 1990. Luckily, he was only using a pump bottle and the acid didn’t penetrate beyond the top layer of varnish. No damage was caused thanks to the security guards, who quickly sprayed water on the affected area. Restorers went on to apply an extra layer of varnish in 1975 too. All’s well that ends well!
Rijksmuseum
A bit of history
The Rijksmuseum, originally called the National Art Gallery, was founded in The Hague in 1800. King Louis Bonaparte, who was living at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam at the time, had the collection moved to Amsterdam. The paintings in the city were merged with the collections from The Hague. And that’s how Rembrandt’s ‘The Night Watch’ ended up at the museum.
It wasn’t until a good number of years later that the building that is currently home to the Rijksmuseum was even built. The call for architects went out in 1863, as you would expect in the museum world (see the KHM and Musée d’Orsay). We don’t know which architect proved most popular, but Pierre Cuypers in second place was given the job in 1876. The building itself has gothic and renaissance elements, with the lavish decoration in the form of reliefs, sculptures, mosaics, painted ceilings and stained glass all being very much inspired and influenced by Dutch history.
The doors to this new building were opened in July 1885, and it wasn’t long before more extension work was underway. Another new building was added in 1890, having been pieced together using demolished historical buildings. Fascinating! And a welcome bit of architectural history inside the museum.
Minor renovation work was performed at intervals over the coming years and decades. But things got a bit more serious between 2003 and 2013, when the museum was gutted out and redesigned from scratch.
Here’s a fun fact for you… The original cycle path connecting the museum to Amsterdam’s Oud-Zuid neighbourhood was meant to go AROUND the building. And now cyclists have to go THROUGH it!
The Rijksmuseum’s current name reflects its elevated status as a national heritage site, which is awarded to cultural establishments, memorials and monuments that “have been listed because of their beauty, scientific significance or cultural and/or historical value” for at least 50 years. Basically, it’s the Dutch equivalent of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Official website of the Rijksmuseum (EN): www.rijksmuseum.nl
Text and image rights: © Céline Mülich, 2021 – 2023
