RIJKSMUSEUM AMSTERDAM: WORKS, TICKETS AND OPENING TIMES
The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam is the most important museum in the Netherlands and boasts the most fascinating collection dedicated to Flemish art.
After a complete restoration, which lasted ten years, in 2013 the museum re-opened to the public, becoming the most visited museum in the Netherlands.
The Rijksmuseum displays over 8,000 works and art objects from the Middle Ages to the present day.
It’s a huge collection which has constantly grown since the early 19thcentury, when the museum was founded.
Here are some suggestions about which works to see and how to plan your visit to the museum.
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
La Ronda di Notte. Dettaglio.
RIJKSMUSEUM AMSTERDAM: TICKETS AND OPENING TIMES
The Rijksmuseum is the most visited museum in Amsterdam and therefore I do not recommend arriving at the entrance without having booked the entrance ticket.
The risk is to stay in line for hours and not be able to have time to admire all the masterpieces.
You can buy your ticket online and skip the line with – Rijksmuseum Skip the Line
Entrance Tickets (without reservation): Adults €17.50-children up to 19 years old free admission.
Opening times:the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam is open every day from 9 am to 5 pm.
RIJKSMUSEUM AMSTERDAM: THE WORKS TO SEE
The Night Watch by Rembrandt – the largest painted ever painted by Rembrandt and the most famous.
This painting is the symbol of the Dutch Golden Age, the period when the Netherlands led European arts, trade and science.
The painting is famous for three features: its large size, the effective use of light and shadow and the perception of motion. You can read the complete description of Rembrandt’s work in the post The Night Watch.
The Milkmaid by Jan Vermeer – the other great Dutch artist, together with Rembrandt, is Vermeer.
The painter of the famous Girl with a Pearl Earring is the artist of everyday scenes whose background is the interiors of Dutch houses.
The Milkmaid is one of the most well-known works by Vermeer, who tries to describe an ordinary gesture making it almost real thanks to plays of light and brilliant colours.
Still life with Cheese by Floris van Dyck – still life is a genre which characterized Dutch painting and made it famous all over the world.
In Italy it’s Caravaggio with his Basket of Fruit who completely renovated this subject.
In Floris van Dyck’s painting the composition is planned down to the last detail and everything appears almost real and perfect, like in the best tradition of Dutch painting.
Self-portrait by Vincent Van Gogh – one of the intense self-portraits of Van Gogh, painted when the artist lived in Paris together with his brother Theo.
It’s Van Gogh’s serious expression, maybe even a little sad, that catches the observer’s attention.
It’s especially evident that the centre of the painting is Vincent’s eyes from which all brushstrokes seem to start.
READ ALSO – Vincent Van Gogh: 5 things to know
Autoritratto Van Gogh al Rijksmuseum.
READ ALSO – What to see in Amsterdam: the 5 most important museums