The Rijksmuseum: A Good Dose of Vermeer, and a Delicious Rembrandt

Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum, 1895.

Vermeer's Lacemaker

I stood in line for 20 minutes, in the rain, waiting to buy a ticket for Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum. That was a relatively short wait to get into this famous museum, so the rain was a blessing (no doubt discouraging a lot of people from joining the line). Once I had my ticket, I headed directly to the place in the museum where four Vermeer paintings are displayed. I've loved Vermeer from the moment I saw his painting The Lacemaker in the Louvre, many years ago. While I'm in the Netherlands I'd like to see as many of his paintings as I can.

The Night Watch (1642), by Rembrandt van Rijn 

Vermeer's paintings are displayed in an alcove in the museum's large Gallery of Honour, along with many other 17th century Dutch masterpieces. There was a crowd in front of the Vermeers, so I went to the end of the Gallery to see the Rijksmuseum's star attraction, Rembrandt's Night Watch. It's an impressive painting, (11 x 14 feet!) A painting as big as that ought to be easy to see…but there was a mob gathered in front of it, too.



With patience, I eventually worked my way in close to The Night Watch. It is truly a beautiful painting, and it's understandable that this is the Rijksmuseum's most treasured artwork. In fact, the Rijksmuseum, built in 1885, was designed specifically to showcase The Night Watch. The museum's curator of 17th century art, Pieter Roelofs, says that Night Watch "is THE national treasure."

I headed back to the Vermeer alcove and joined the herd, inching slowly toward the four precious paintings. Shuffling along in the crowd, head down (watching the floor, hoping no one would step on my feet). I thought…is this worth it?

Here's a photo of the Gallery of Honour's alcoves from the Rijksmuseum's website:

And here's what it looked like the day I visited:

If you've ever seen one of Vermeer's paintings up close, you know that it is worth the wait. These four Vermeers are small, intimate affairs. The three interior scenes contain a minimum of people, a minimum of action. The people in them are absorbed in what they're doing- pouring milk from a pitcher, reading a letter, playing the lute. Soft light illuminates the rooms. You can feel the silence in these rooms.

            The Milk Maid (c. 1660)           Woman in Blue Reading a Letter (1664)

One painting, Little Street, is a view of a brick house and the passageway that leads to the space behind the house. Again, the people in the painting are absorbed in what they're doing, unaware that we're watching them. Maybe that's what's so delightful about looking at these paintings. Vermeer lets us in on the action. We're emotionally involved, seeing and feeling what the artist felt when he captured the scene with his brush. We're getting a sneak peek at a slice of 17th century Dutch domestic life, and it sure is gezellig.

          The Love Letter (c. 1670)                         The Little Street (c. 1658)

There were lots of familiar paintings in The Court of Honor, ones I remembered from my art history books. But I didn't remember seeing The Jewish Bride before. Here was a painting that didn't have a crowd in front of it, a painting that I could get close to without waiting. I don't understand why, because The Jewish Bride is wonderful! It's a portrait of a contented couple. The man is obviously in love (he can't keep his hands off her!) The object of his affection seems pleased by the attention. 

The Jewish Bride, 1662 

Rembrandt used a palette knife to apply strokes of gold to the man's sleeves, and to build up areas of the woman's brilliant red dress. Light reflects off the raised paint, and the painting shimmers. I could hardly take my eyes off this yummy painting! I could have stayed there all day, basking in the beauty of Rembrandt's brushstrokes.

Detail of The Jewish Bride

But there were so many other wonderful things to see in the Rijksmuseum, I forced myself to move on. I wandered through the museum's many rooms for 2+ hours, until I was on sensory overload. I'm sure I didn't get to half of the galleries in the Rijksmuseum. I'll have to go back…

Other highlights:

          Enjoying the Ice near a Town                                                                 The Drunken Couple

                               Hendrick Avercamp (1585-1634)                                                            Jan Steen (1625-1679)

       Young Woman Warming her Hands over a Brazier                                     Still Life with a Gilt Cup (1635)
           by Cesar Botius van Everdingen (1617-1678)                                               by Willem Claesz Heda