Rijksmuseum

Intro

On May 20, 2024 we all went to the Rijksmuseum. This is a museum of art like pottery, metal work, instruments, painting, furniture, fashion, and much more. This museum was very large and had three floors of multiple different kinds of art. The art is from many different centuries. While walking through the Rijksmuseum, you can tell when you are in a different time period or different kind of art style or culture. We explored many different kinds of arts, styles, and cultures throughout the Rijksmuseum.

What it is

The Rijksmuseum is a museum of many different arts. The Rijksmuseum was opened over 200 years ago, however, it wasn’t always in Amsterdam. In 1808 the ruler at the time moved the museum to Amsterdam. At the time, the museum only had a few collections, but over time it grew to the size it is today. Some of the most famous artists that are in the Rijksmuseum include Rembrant, Jan Havicksz Steen, Vincent Van Gogh, and Johannes Vermeer. There are painters from the 1500s all the way to the 1800s. As the viewer moves through the museum the time changes as well as the styles and ideas of art change. Some non-painting artists include sculptures. There are many different sculptures from clay, stone, metal, and other materials. There were also tapestries and rugs hanging on the walls. Some doll houses were shown with dolls and furniture to show what it was like. Throughout the first and second floors there are paintings, sculptures, pottery, furniture, and instruments. The basement floor was where the fashion, lock and key, some china, and miniature art was located. Most of the fashion was undergarments from the 17th century. There were petticoats, underwear, bras, and suspenders on display. Some corsets and skirts were on display as well. There were some miniature silver trinkets. This included mini chairs, tables, tea sets, cannons, people doing things like walking on a tightrope, farming, and many other things. This museum was very large and had many different arts to explore and learn about. 

Favorite parts of the museum

My favorite parts of the museum were the paintings. The paintings were really detailed and beautiful. I liked the paintings of women with dogs and some landscapes. My favorite painting to look at was ‘Young Italian Woman, with ‘Puck’ the Dog’ by Therese Schwartze. She painted this oil on canvas from 1884 to 1885. I liked that the painter was a female artist and I liked the style of her painting. Another piece of art I enjoyed was ‘Sleeping Beauty’ by Fran Stracke. This is made of Carrara marble and was sculpted in 1867. I love the emotion that was captured in the sculpture. These are just two out of many pieces of art I enjoyed looking at. I will put the pictures that I discussed below.

Conclusion

I would go back to the Rijksmuseum. This was a fun place to go because it helped show some, not only Netherlands history and culture, but also European culture. If I were to go back to the museum I would want to go for more than one day. I found this museum was very big and it was hard to take it all in. I would want time and energy to look at the first half of the museum and then go back another day to explore the rest of it. This was also a fun group activity. I found myself staring at paintings and art pieces with some of the women discussing what we liked and didn't like about the art. Some of the women would come to me and show me things they enjoyed looking at and I would do the same. It was fun to enjoy and appreciate art with the women on the trip.