#Rijksmuseum

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 28 August 2023

Women Artists

Thérèse Schwartze: The Painter of the Amsterdam’s Elite

Thérèse Schwartze (1851–1918) grew up in an artistic family in Amsterdam. Her father Johann Georg Schwartze was a painter and he introduced his...

Europeana 21 August 2023

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 21 August 2023

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 21 August 2023

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 21 August 2023

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 21 August 2023

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 14 August 2023

Nicaise de Keyser, William II (1792-1849), King of the Netherlands, when Prince of Orange, 1846, Royal Collection, UK. History

Willem II: The Queer King of the Netherlands

Willem II ruled the Netherlands from 1840 to 1849. In modern terms he would be considered a bisexual man, as he had relationships with both women and...

Jimena Escoto 14 June 2023

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 27 May 2023

Painting

The Countryside in Art: from Idyllic Scenes to Social Issues

Pure life in harmony with nature or hardship and poverty? Let’s take a look at various representations of the countryside in art. A Peaceful...

Europeana 17 April 2023

News

Vermeer As You’ve Never Seen Before at the Rijksmuseum

This year we have a chance to witness the largest Vermeer exhibition to ever be held. From 10 February to 4 June 2023,  the Rijksmuseum is...

Nicole Ganbold 2 March 2023

News

The Best Art Exhibitions to See in 2023

Museums and galleries are putting on some fantastic shows in 2023 as they continue to encourage visitors back after the pandemic. Whether you are...

Catriona Miller 26 January 2023