The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam Netherlands has quite some works by master Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rjin from different periods of his life. He is one of the masters of the Dutch golden age painting, and his art works have fascinated art connoisseurs and lovers for ages. Tourists make it a point to watch his paintings when they visit Amsterdam. The guided tour of Rijksmuseum focusing on the works of Rembrandt helps to understand the painter as an artist and as a person; read ahead to know more.
Who Is Rembrandt?
Rembrandt, born on 15 July 1606 in the Dutch city of Leiden, grew up and spent most of his life in the city where he did his school followed by enrolling at the University of Leiden. Unlike his contemporaries, he never left the Dutch republic in his lifetime. After his studies, he worked as an apprentice to the painters Jacob van Swanenburg in Leiden and Pieter Lastman in Amsterdam. After this, he stayed for a few months with his friend Jacob Pynas and in 1624 or 1625, opened a studio which he shared with his friend and colleague Jan Lievens. So, in Rijksmuseum there are paintings of Lievens from his early period because he was a child prodigy as a painter. By the age of 25 Rembrandt moved to the booming city of Amsterdam where his career soared to new heights and the master painter that we know of was born.
Rijksmuseum Highlights Tour: Rembrandt
The Rijksmuseum holds the world’s largest collection of Rembrandt paintings and the magnum opus among them is The Night Watch, a portrait of a group of civic guards. A special gallery is dedicated to this masterpiece and it is a true highlight of the artist’s career. The other famous paintings of the Dutch master are The Jewish Bride, and the portrait of Marten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit. The Rembrandt collection at the museum has the most comprehensive collection and gives the viewer an overview of the painter’s painting oeuvre.
Many of these paintings are extremely rare and offer a once in a lifetime opportunity to get unparalleled perspective about the paintings, artist and his artistic vision. They cover the various periods of his artistic career, the evolution of his style and drawings from the earliest part of his career and these include early self portraits. The highlight should be the highly fragile 17th century paintings that are very rarely exhibited.
So, if you are interested in the works of Rembrandt, then a guided tour of Rijksmuseum is inevitable.