Rijksmuseum Visit

A Visit to the Rijksmuseum of the Netherlands

The Rjksmuseum was opened way back in 1885 and it has become the largest art museum in the Netherlands, as well as a world-class museum in its own right.  It's very large!  The photo above shows the beautiful Gothic museum from across one of Amsterdam's many canals.  We visited the museum in 2015 when I took these pictures.  Let's look at some of the artwork within its massive walls.

We begin our tour of the museum in one of the first exhibit halls - rather crowded, especially in this section where there are a number of wonderful Vermeer paintings.

"The Love Letter" (1669-1670)

by Johannes Vermeer

"The Milkmaid" (1660) by Johannes Vermeer

This is one of my favorites!  The painting glows with life.

"Figures in a Courtyard Behind a House" (1663-1665)

by Pieter de Hooch during his Delft period

"The Windmill at Wijk Bij Duurstede" (1668-1670)

by Jacob Isaacksz van Ruisdael

This is a world famous painting.  River Lek flows in foreground

"Militia Company of District VIII..." (1643)

by Bartholomew van der Heist

This is a portion of the 24 feet long oil painting.  Quite impressive!

"Portrait Bust of Johann Neudorfer, the Younger"

by Johan Gregor van der Schardt 

Terracota bust - very lifelike

A massive library of old books 

(at least, I'm guessing they're old & maybe rare)

"Portrait of Emperor Napoleon I"  (1805-1815)

Napoleon proclaimed himself emperor in 1804, 

exiled to Elba in 1814

"Portrait of William I, King of the Netherlands" (1819)

by Joseph Paelinck

Napoleon's defeat in 1812 allowed William 

to return to the Netherlands as monarch in 1813

"David" by Pietro Magni

Marble statue, Milan - 1851

Classic pose of David as he winds up to slay Goliath

"The Death of Pharoah's Firstborn Son" (1872)

by Lawrence Alma-Tadema

A poignant scene from Exodus when the firstborn of Egypt died on the night of the first Passover.  Moses warned Pharoah, but he didn't listen and he reaped the whirlwind.  This extreme event caused Pharoah to let God's people go, so they were able to be set free from nearly 400 years of slavery.

"Children of the Sea" (1872)

by Jozef Israels

One of my favorite of the paintings -- so Dutch!

"Charity the Educator" (Florence - 1842-1845)

by Lorenzo Bartolini

The boy is reading a scroll on which is written, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."  These words mirror two verses in the Bible:  Jesus said, "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets" Matthew 7:12.  Jesus' words are repeated in Luke 6:31, "And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise."  These commands are commonly known as the Golden Rule.

In these challenging times we are living in, the Golden Rule of doing good unto others is especially important.  I hope you've enjoyed your trip through the halls of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.  Stay safe and well - and God bless your day!!