Day at the Museum

We spent the entire day admiring famous Dutch works of art at the Rijksmuseum today! This museum is massive, and it features art that dates between the 13th century and present-day. We got to see works by Rembrandt, Vermeer, and a couple more pieces by Van Gogh.

Not only did visiting the Rijksmuseum give us a chance to learn about famous Dutch artists we never heard of, but it also helped us learn more about The Netherlands' history. Each painting/sculpture/artifact presented viewers information about the art itself, along with some historical and/or cultural significance to the piece. There was a lot to read, especially if you're reading about each piece, but you do learn quite a bit.

One side of the entrance to the Rijksmueum

Rijksmuseum's ceiling of the lobby

A Prayer Nut. So intricate!

Waterloo room - Art inspired by the Battle of Waterloo

Photographs of soldiers that took part in Waterloo. Photographs were taken many years after the war.

A Van Gogh we were actually able to get a picture of!

Because the museum was so big, we had to leave to get lunch and then go back. So happy they allow you to do that!

Lunch break

The Night Watch was one of the museum's highlights. It was very cool to see, and the museum had a lot of information regarding the composition and history of this piece.

Rembrandt's "The Night Watch"

One of Adam's favorites, known as "The Windmill at Wijk bin Duurstede" by Jacob Isaacksz van Rulsdael.

My favorite, "The Dancing Lesson" by Jan Havicksz Steen. It's a painting of children trying to teach a cat to dance, and the cat is NOT amused. I guess even in the 1600s cats were hard to please. ;)

Vermeer's "The Milkmaid"

Another Rembrandt

One part of the museum had a section called "Drinking Games." It explained that the Dutch liked to drink, but not to the extent to where they were all alcoholics. Because the water was so contaminated in the 17th/18th centuries, they usually drank watered-down beer on a daily basis. But they drank better alcohol (wine) during celebrations/festivals. 

The area displayed all sorts of different cups and jugs, most of them had interesting designs. The museum isn't entirely sure what drinking games were played, but they were able to explain a few. For example, the second picture below was used to announce an upcoming birth, by filling the glass with wine. Once the wine reached a certain point, the statue in the middle would start to float, letting people know that a child was on the way. The cup in the third photo had an archer that can spin around. The cup was most likely placed on the table among guests where the archer was spun, and when he stopped, his arrow pointed to the person who had to give the first toast. Kind of cool, right?!

And now for some Rococo snuffboxes. They are so beautiful and intricate!

In the garden surrounding the Rijksmuseum

We left the museum around 4:30. We probably spent around 5 total hours at the museum (not counting our lunch break), and we didn't even see everything! Overall, the Rijksmuseum is pretty fantastic! It's just impressive how much art there is, and the museum did a great job of displaying it. If you ever decide to visit Amsterdam, you should definitely take a day to visit this place. You'll see and learn a lot!

Casey, this one is for you!

After the museum, we wandered around the neighborhood a little bit...just to explore. I still can't get over how beautiful it is here, with all the different buildings and canals. Even the large amount of people biking around still amazes me. Each day, we're just falling more and more in love with Amsterdam!