Rijksmuseum Home of Rembrandt’s Night Watch

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is the number one art museum in the Netherlands and art lovers cannot afford to miss it. The museum possesses an unrivalled collection of Dutch art. The Rijkmuseum in Amsterdam is famous for its collection of works of art from the 15th to the 17th centuries. The museum is also home to the Night Watch, Rembrandt’s most famous painting.

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is one of Europe’s largest museums and one day is not enough to see all the works of art. Therefore, it is good to know that the Rijksmuseum is open 365 days a year.

Tickets can only be bought online. When buying your ticket you must indicate at what time you will arrive, once inside you can stay as long as you like

Or combine an unforgettable hour-long Canal Cruise with a visit to the Rijksmuseum! Skip the line and save money!

Rembrandt van Rijn – Night Watch, 1642

The Art Collection

The highlights of the Rijksmuseum are the paintings from the Golden Age which include paintings by Rembrandt, Johan Vermeer, Frans Hals and Jan Steen. It is not only paintings that makes Rijksmuseum famous also modern art like the white Rietveld chair and the Mondriaan dress designed by Yves Saint Laurent are exhibited. Imposing Delftware and three dolls’ houses are part of the museum’s collection.

Gallery of Honour: Room 2

The Gallery of Honour is made up of small alcoves. Against a blue-grey background the Rijksmuseum’s masterpieces are on display: Rembrandt, Vermeer, Frans Hals and Jan Steen. This colour scheme is well chosen because the colours of the paintings stand out more vividly than against the usual white background of most other museums. Join the Rembrandt fans in front of the Night Watch. Rembrandt was the first painter to depict members of the militia doing things actively. Notice how one of the men is cleaning and another inspecting his riffle.

Amalia van Solms Cabinet: room 2.8

A true showpiece is the seventeenth-century cabinet which once belonged to Amalia van Solms, wife of Stadtholder Fredrik Hendrik, and commissioned after her husband’s death in 1647. Inlaid ivory and tortoise shell sprigs of orange blossom which refer to his name Van Oranje Nassau. Inside the cabinet are her and her husband’s intitials. The curator, however, decided to keep the doors of the cabinet closed and not show this intimacy to the public.

Delftware: Room 2.22

The eye-catcher in the Delftware room is a huge flower vase in the form of a stacked obelisk with holes to put flowers in. In the seventeenth century decorating rooms with scented flowers had become very trendy. As flowers had never been brought into the house before special vases had to be designed.

Buy yourself a cardboard fold-it-yourself flower vase in the Museum Shop and decorate your house with scented flowers or, better still buy tulip bulbs, grow your own and stick colourful tulips in the holes in the vase.

Dolls Houses: Room 2.23

If you want to see the splendid interior of a 17th century canal house, climb three steps on the stepladder in front of the dolls house so that your eyes are level with the rooms in the house. Dolls houses were not children’s toys, but a hobby and pastime of the lady of the house.

Address

Rijksmuseum, Museumstraat 1, Amsterdam

Opening Hours of Rijksmuseum
365 days a year from 09:00-17:00

Opening hours of the Shop and the Café
Open from 09.00-14.00. You will need an entrance ticket to the museum to visit the shop and the cafe.
Between 17.00 and 18.00 you can enter without an entrance ticket.

RIJKS restaurant is open from Wednesday to Sunday for lunch and on from Tuesday to Sunday for dinner.

The Museum Gardens are only open in summer from 09.00-18.00.

NOTE 1: entrance tickets must be bought online. You will have to indicating your time of arrival.
NOTE 2: Once inside the museum cash payments are not accepted. Payment by pin or credit card only

Next article: Rembrandt as Portrait Painter
Previous article: Upside Down Museum: nothing is what is seems

photo credits Marianne Crone & Albert van den Boomen

Disclaimer
The excursions and tours are constantly adapted to the wishes of the visitors and descriptions may differ slightly. Therefore, it is recommended to read the product description.