#Rijksmuseum

Jan de Baen (attributed to), The Corpses of the De Witt Brothers, c. 1672 - c. 1675, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands WTF Art History

A Bizarre Story of Brothers De Witt Who Were… Eaten by a Mob?

Legend has it that in 1672, two important Dutch statesmen and brothers, Johan and Cornelis de Witt, were murdered, mutilated, and eaten by an angry...

Nicole Ganbold 6 October 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Still Life with a Golden Goblet by Pieter de Ring

Why is food such a popular image for art and culture? For millennia it has been a source of inspiration from ancient Roman mosaics through Dutch...

James W Singer 3 August 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Woman in a Large Hat by Caesar van Everdingen

Caesar van Everdingen’s Woman in a Large Hat is a captivating oil-on-linen painting that offers a fascinating glimpse into 17th-century Dutch...

Alessia Caldana 20 July 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Donkey Rides on the Beach by Isaac Israëls

As part of our link-up with the Rijksmuseum, here is one of Isaac Israel’s beach scenes. Donkey Rides is painted with a breezy freedom that...

Catriona Miller 20 July 2025

Quiz

The Great Rijksmuseum QUIZ!

Ruxi Rusu 19 July 2025

Baroque

15 Things You Didn’t Know About the Night Watch by Rembrandt

The Night Watch painted by Rembrandt van Rijn is a monumental canvas displayed today in the “Gallery of Honour” of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam,...

Zuzanna Stańska, Nicole Ganbold 19 May 2025

Johannes Vermeer, The Milkmaid, ca. 1660, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Wikimedia Commons (public domain). Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Milkmaid by Johannes Vermeer

Among many representations of domestic scenes of respectable Dutch middle-class households, there is one that never ceases to impress and capture the...

Giordana Goretti 13 April 2025

Henriëtte Ronner-Knip, Cat at Play, ca 1860-78, oil on wood panel, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Cat at Play by Henriëtte Ronner-Knip

Cat at Play is a masterpiece by Henriëtte Ronner-Knip who deserves to have her legacy revised and her fame revived. Art does not need to be radical...

James W Singer 23 February 2025

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Threatened Swan by Jan Asselijn

Swans are normally characterized as graceful birds. They are magnificent and majestic. However, Jan Asselijn displays another side of these elegant...

James W Singer 5 January 2025

Jan Havicksz Steen, Woman at her Toilet, 1655-60, oil on panel, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Woman at Her Toilet by Jan Steen

Jan Steen’s Woman at Her Toilet is a provocative masterpiece of genre paintings because of its visual complexity and seductive allure, inviting...

James W Singer 8 December 2024

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Gallant Conversation by Gerard ter Borch

Gallant Conversation by Gerard ter Borch is a genre painting filled with a mysterious narrative. What are the three people doing? Why are they in a...

James W Singer 8 December 2024

News

Gesina ter Borch’s Sole Signed Painting Emerges at an Art Fair

Recently Rijksmuseum announced an acquisition of a highly sought-after newly emerged work by a Dutch Golden Age artist, Gesina ter Borch. This...

Nicole Ganbold 15 March 2024