Rijksmuseum

The Rijksmuseum serves as the national museum of the Netherlands. It is dedicated to preserving Dutch arts and history. Located in Amsterdam, it sits on the Museum Square. This area also houses the Van Gogh Museum and the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.

The museum is the largest art museum in the country. It acts as a massive repository for Dutch culture. Visitors go there to experience centuries of creative achievement.

The museum's collection is vast and incredibly diverse. It contains one million total objects. These items span the years from 1200 to 2000. Currently, the museum displays about 8,000 of these objects.

The collection includes over 2,000 paintings from the Dutch Golden Age. Notable artists include Rembrandt, Johannes Vermeer, and Frans Hals. Other masters include Jan Steen and Jacob van Ruisdael. The museum also features a small Asian collection in the Asian pavilion. Some items are quite unique, such as a Bantam biplane.

The museum's history began with modest origins in The Hague. It was founded on 19 November 1798. Isaac Gogel, the Minister of Finance, argued for a national museum. He wanted it to follow the example of the Louvre in France.

At first, the collection only filled five rooms at Huis ten Bosch. It did not start from a single royal collection. Instead, it grew through various purchases and donations. This long process of building the collection lasted 200 years.

Movement and change defined the museum's early years. The precursor, the National Art Gallery, opened in 1800. In 1808, King Louis Bonaparte ordered a move to Amsterdam. The museum first occupied the Royal Palace. Later, it moved to the Trippenhuis. However, the Trippenhuis was not suitable for the museum's needs.

Various collections were moved to places like Haarlem and The Hague. Eventually, all major holdings were brought together in a new building.

The current main building is a masterpiece of architecture. Pierre Cuypers won a design contest in 1876. His design combined Gothic and Renaissance elements. Construction began on 1 October 1876. The building is richly decorated with references to Dutch art history.

B. van Hove won a contest to design the decorations. W.F. Dixon created the stained glass panels. The museum officially opened at this location on 13 July 1885. The building also includes a specialized library.

A massive renovation transformed the museum for the modern era. The main building closed in December 2003. Spanish architects Antonio Cruz and Antonio Ortiz designed the renovation. They aimed to merge old and new elements seamlessly. This project lasted nearly ten years. It cost approximately €375 million.

Queen Beatrix reopened the building on 13 April 2013. During the renovation, many objects stayed in the Philips Wing. This wing is also known as the fragment building. It displays fragments that show Dutch architectural history.

The Rijksmuseum remains a major cultural force today. In 2013 and 2014, it was the most visited museum in the Netherlands. It saw record numbers of 2.2 million and 2.47 million visitors.

The museum also uses technology to share art. The Rijksstudio webplatform offers high-resolution images for download. As of January 2021, it hosts 700,000 works. These are available under a Creative Commons license. Future plans include a satellite branch in Eindhoven. A new sculpture garden may also open in autumn 2026.