Rijksmuseum
Rijksmuseum is the Amsterdam State Museum, the largest art museum in the Netherlands. It houses more than one million exhibits. The Rijksmuseum was opened in 1885 and has become a landmark of the city, combining Gothic and Renaissance features. It is best known for its magnificent collection of Old Dutch Masters; the museum houses 20 paintings by Rembrandt and other painting treasures, including works by Jan Vermeer, Frans Hals and Jan Wall.
General information
More than one million visitors come to the Rijksmuseum every year. It is one of the major museums of Western Europe. More than 400 famous works are exhibited in the museum’s halls, while landscapes, sea views, individual portraits, genre scenes and Dutch still life help to familiarize visitors with the culture and art of Holland’s golden age – the 17th century – when Holland’s commerce, science and art were considered the best in the world.
The museum was founded in The Hague in 1800 as the National Art Gallery as a place to house the royal family’s meetings, in 1808, the museum was moved to Amsterdam by order of King Louis-Napoleon, brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. It was renamed the State Museum, and paintings belonging to the city, including Rembrandt’s famous masterpiece The Night Watch, became part of the museum’s permanent exhibition.
The Rijksmuseum building houses collections of art from the 15th to 19th centuries: paintings, photography, sculpture, decorative arts, furniture, jewelry, ceramics, glass, porcelain, costumes, textiles, silver and Delft porcelain.
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