Where: Amsterdam, Netherlands
When: May 6, 2017
With: Dave
On our first full day in Amsterdam, mostly over the jetlag, we headed to our first museum: the Rijksmuseum.
While the collection itself was established in the early 1800s, the doors on this masterpiece of architecture were opened in 1883. It is the largest art museum in the country and is the best representation of the artists who made up the Dutch "Golden Age" of art.
The Netherlands was ruled by Spain for several years. As Spain was a Catholic country, art at that time was heavily influenced by the church, meaning there were a lot of pious, stoic figures and some good old-fashioned fire and brimstone. When the Dutch won back their independence, art took a distinct turn.
The subjects of paintings became everyday scenes, sort of a "day in the life" of regular people. Formal posing was abandoned to show movement, some subjects almost acknowledging the artist's appearance in the middle of their daily routine. Rembrandt, Vermeer and Hals became the masters of capturing real life, and the Rijksmuseum became the place to display some of their most famous works.
The building itself is very cool. It sat at the end of a long street in Amsterdam, building anticipation as we walked towards it.
The center of the building has been carved out to allow for bike riders to pass through the middle. So Dutch to consider the bikers!
And then despite the traditional, red brick on the outside, the main hall is brightly lit and modern, with white pillared sculptures hanging from the ceiling.
We wandered up the stairs through the museum, looking through the various collections that are separated by periods in time. But the area we really wanted to get to was the very top, the 1600-1700s, the height of the Dutch Golden Age.
As we reached the top of the stairs, I suddenly felt like I'd walked into a church. Incredibly high ceilings arched overhead like a cathedral and stained glass windows went from floor to ceiling. The floor was a mosaic, and massive murals adorned the stone walls. It was magnificent, and we weren't even where the famous paintings were yet!
Now I'm not normally a huge fan of taking photos of paintings. I actually sort of enjoy when the "no camera" sign appears and I can just enjoy the artwork rather than think about how best to photograph the setting. However, I had to make a few exceptions to my rule while wandering around here, so forgive me for being a hypocrite.
The main works of art are featured down a massive, arched hallway called the Gallery of Honour. Continuing with the cathedral feel, it felt like the nave of a church. The most famous painting of the Rijksmuseum is featured at the end of the Gallery, and can be viewed through the arch at the end. But more on that later.
Down this hallway are small insets with maybe 8-10 paintings each, mostly divided up by artist.
When: May 6, 2017
With: Dave
On our first full day in Amsterdam, mostly over the jetlag, we headed to our first museum: the Rijksmuseum.
While the collection itself was established in the early 1800s, the doors on this masterpiece of architecture were opened in 1883. It is the largest art museum in the country and is the best representation of the artists who made up the Dutch "Golden Age" of art.
The Netherlands was ruled by Spain for several years. As Spain was a Catholic country, art at that time was heavily influenced by the church, meaning there were a lot of pious, stoic figures and some good old-fashioned fire and brimstone. When the Dutch won back their independence, art took a distinct turn.
The subjects of paintings became everyday scenes, sort of a "day in the life" of regular people. Formal posing was abandoned to show movement, some subjects almost acknowledging the artist's appearance in the middle of their daily routine. Rembrandt, Vermeer and Hals became the masters of capturing real life, and the Rijksmuseum became the place to display some of their most famous works.
The building itself is very cool. It sat at the end of a long street in Amsterdam, building anticipation as we walked towards it.
We wandered up the stairs through the museum, looking through the various collections that are separated by periods in time. But the area we really wanted to get to was the very top, the 1600-1700s, the height of the Dutch Golden Age.
As we reached the top of the stairs, I suddenly felt like I'd walked into a church. Incredibly high ceilings arched overhead like a cathedral and stained glass windows went from floor to ceiling. The floor was a mosaic, and massive murals adorned the stone walls. It was magnificent, and we weren't even where the famous paintings were yet!
Now I'm not normally a huge fan of taking photos of paintings. I actually sort of enjoy when the "no camera" sign appears and I can just enjoy the artwork rather than think about how best to photograph the setting. However, I had to make a few exceptions to my rule while wandering around here, so forgive me for being a hypocrite.
The main works of art are featured down a massive, arched hallway called the Gallery of Honour. Continuing with the cathedral feel, it felt like the nave of a church. The most famous painting of the Rijksmuseum is featured at the end of the Gallery, and can be viewed through the arch at the end. But more on that later.
Down this hallway are small insets with maybe 8-10 paintings each, mostly divided up by artist.
Here were two paintings that I thought really showed that "slice of life" concept. On the left is Children Teaching a Cat to Dance and on the right is The Baker Arent Oostwaard and his Wife Catharina Keizerswaard. This artist, Jan Steen, grew up in a tavern and owned a brewery, so he definitely got to see some pretty "regular" people on a daily basis. The art is such a change from the usual rich patrons posing stoically. The baker looks like he's actually smiling at me.
After battling through the throngs of people eagerly viewing some of the more famous works of art in the Gallery, we made our way to the end and to that featured painting I mentioned earlier. The painting is Rembrandt's The Night Watch which was commissioned in 1642 by the leader of a local militia unit in Amsterdam. Unlike most military paintings of the time, Rembrandt featured the men readying for battle and preparing to march. Up until then, commissioned military paintings always showed the men static and standing at attention. It was a revolutionary way to paint the scene.
After finishing up with the Golden Age, we wandered outside into the Museumplein, a large grassy area behind the Rijksmuseum that is surrounded by some of Amsterdam's other prominent museums. There was a touch of mist in the air and I felt like I was standing inside an actual Dutch painting, watching both locals and tourists mill about the park. It was surreal.
Behind the Rijksmuseum is the now famous "i amsterdam" statue. Tourists climbed and crawled around and over the letters so it was hard to get any sort of photo, but I think that's probably the point.
I mean, we are tourists.
This museum had a perfect collection of art to quickly explain some of the history of the Dutch and their Golden Age. It's not a surprise that it's one of the most prominent in the world.
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