Rembrandt House Museum

Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam is the house where the famous Dutch artist lived and worked for twenty years. The interior gives a good impression of what his house must have looked like when Rembrandt lived here. None of the furniture is authentic, but all are replica period pieces of seventeenth-century furniture and utensils as Rembrandt would have used them.

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The House with the Shutters

When Rembrandt van Rijn bought the red-shuttered house in Jodenbreestraat in Amsterdam, the house looked much the same as it does today. He lived here for twenty years, from 1639 to 1659. This was the place where Rembrandt taught and inspired young promising artists, among them Gerrit Dou, Govaert Flinck, Carel Fabritius and Aert de Gelder, who all became famous painters. It is estimated that over his entire career Rembrandt had over fifty pupils. They paid an annual fee and in return were taught the tricks of the trade by copying their master’s work.

Rembrandt’s Etchings

Later in life, when Rembrandt’s paintings were no longer fashionable, he fell on hard times. He was declared bankrupt and his house in Jodenbreestraat was sold. Amsterdam City Council bought the house in 1907 and renovated it. In 1911 Queen Wilhelmina opened the museum. The collection consists of Rembrandt’s graphic works – 260 of the 290 etchings he made are on permanent display. What better place to exhibit these works than in the house where they were made!

The Interior of Rembrandt’s House

The interior is a reconstruction of what the house looked like in Rembrandt’s days. Unable to pay his mortgage after bankruptcy, Rembrandt’s possessions were inventoried for the benefit of his creditors. This list helped to reconstruct the interior of Rembrandt’s house.

Replicas of the furniture, the box bed, the objets d’arts which included coins, weapons and stuffed animals all found a place in the rooms on the first floor of the museum. It was customary for painters to have all sorts of objects in their studios: exotic shells, goose feathers and goblets, but also brocade and , velvet. All of this was meticulously copied as an exercise.

The second floor contains a graphics studio for print making and served as a studio for his pupils. Rembrandt’s painting tools; his brushes and paints lie ready to be used. It seems as if the master is still there.

Address

Het Rembrandthuis (Rembrandt House Museum)
Jodenbreestraat 4
Amsterdam

Opening Hours: Daily 10.00-18.00 hrs

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Rembrandt as a Portrait Painter

More museums in Amsterdam
Van Gogh Museum
Museum Fabrique des Lumieres
Kattenkabinet Cat Museum
Tulip Museum