Inside the Rijksmuseum

Have you ever ridden a bicycle through an art museum? At the Rijksmuseum (RYKS-myoo-ZEE-um) in Amsterdam, you can! This is the largest art museum in the Netherlands and is the only museum in the world with a bicycle path running through it. This layout sometimes makes it feel like you’re wandering through a maze as you navigate the museum’s many floors and wings.

The Rijksmuseum originally opened in 1800. Now it features 800 years of Dutch art and culture and often draws more than 2 million visitors per year from around the world. The collection at the Rijksmuseum offers visitors a glimpse into Dutch life from the Middle Ages to today. Keep reading for a peek into Dutch culture and history with some of the museum’s most notable artworks!

In The Night Watch, civic guards prepare to defend their city. Rembrandt van Rijn emphasizes the importance of the guards’ work with dramatic contrasts in lighting. Like the scene depicted, the painting itself has had a dramatic history. In 1911, 1975, and again in 1990, visitors damaged the painting. During the second World War, the painting was evacuated from the Rijksmuseum and hidden in a cave.

Today the painting is a beloved symbol of national pride and has attracted large crowds for decades. When the painting began a years-long restoration in 2019, the museum enclosed it in a glass chamber so visitors could still see it while the process was underway!

The Rijksmuseum acquired (purchased) its first painting, The Threatened Swan, in 1800. Jan Asselijn (yahn AH-sel-yen) depicts an enormous swan with wings outstretched and plumage puffed, defending its nest against an attacking dog. At the time of the dramatic painting’s purchase, many interpreted it as a political allegory representing a Dutch statesman protecting the nation from its enemies.

In The Milkmaid, a Dutch kitchen maid carefully pours milk, quietly absorbed in her work. Historians praise Johannes Vermeer for his luminous depictions of daily life in the Netherlands. If you look closely at the bottom right of the painting, you might notice blue Delft tiles. The Netherlands is famous for its Delft pottery, which has been produced there for centuries. Details like these are a subtle nod to Vermeer’s appreciation for Dutch culture, which is also central to the mission of the Rijksmuseum.

While he was alive, Vincent van Gogh was underappreciated. He only sold a few paintings. Today he is one of the Netherlands’ most beloved and important painters. His work is renowned for showing his great love for his country and its culture.