Rijksmuseum

🦢 From Ovid’s Metamorphoses: Zeus desires Leda and becomes a swan to overpower her. A moment that has inspired artists for centuries.

 👁️ On view now in the exhibition Metamorphoses: https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/whats-on/exhibitions/metamorphoses

In a single painting, Van Haarlem tells the entire story: the warning, the temptation, and the punishment. An old story but still very recognizable, sometimes you know something is forbidden, and you do it anyway. 🍎🐍

👁️ https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200109196

A new Rembrandt discovered! Vision of Zacharias in the Temple (1633) has just been confirmed as an authentic work by the young Rembrandt. 

The painting will be on display at the Rijksmuseum from March 4.

👁️ https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/stories/themes/rembrandt/story/a-new-rembrandt-discovered

Time for a toast! What shall we toast to? 🍻

A quick stroke here, a rough sweep there. In this portrait, Frans Hals’s loose painting style is clearly visible. He was one of the first artists to dare to paint in such a free manner. 

👁️ https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200109347

Willem van de Velde II specialised in dramatic seascapes like this. In 1672, he and his father entered the service of the English royal court as marine painters. Almost like reporters, they captured ships and sea battles as they unfolded. 

👁️ https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200108359

Which artwork could you stand in front of for hours? 🌳👀

In this forest scene, Koekkoek turns nature into something mythical. Towering “Wodan’s Oaks” rise like cathedral columns, light filters through dense leaves, and the landscape feels peaceful and grand.

👁️ https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200111819

What does a swan make you think of? 🦢

Swans are often seen as symbols of beauty and grace, devotion and purity, and they play important roles in famous stories and myths. In art, the swan has been a big source of inspiration throughout the centuries.

👁️ https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection

The pharaoh sits in semi-darkness with the body of his deceased son on his lap. His grief seems to fill the space around him. Servants, family members and shadows occupy the room. In the upper right, we see Moses and Aaron, visiting the pharaoh.

👁️ https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/2004259

What makes a house feel like a home to you? 🏠❤️ 

We are standing in the Vlamingstraat in Delft, from 1645, it was the home of Vermeer’s aunt. With this street view Vermeer captured the beauty of everyday life.

👁️ https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200108371

The longer you look, the more flowers you discover: roses, tulips, anemones, fritillaries and many more. Between the stems and petals, life teems. Insects crawl, flutter and hide. It is as if an entire living garden has come together in a single vase.  🌺🌼🌹 

👁️ https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/20029045

She has just settled into playing the piano when the little brothers disturb the calm! 🎹 Willem Bartel van der Kooi was a master at painting children. He captured their spontaneity so naturally that the scene almost feels like a snapshot.

👁️ https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200108660

What did you see first: the pearl or the rooster? 🐓💎

In the 16th century, jewellers often began with what nature gave them. Here, an irregular pearl becomes the body of a rooster, while gold forms its head, tail, and legs. 

👁️ https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200114286

Meet Gerard Bicker: the confident son of Amsterdam’s powerful mayor, Andries Bicker. The painter captures not just his likeness, but also another status symbol: the pair of fine leather gloves Gerard holds loosely. They allude to his luxurious lifestyle. ✨

👁️ https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200109367

The Dutch love for skating didn’t appear out of nowhere. Skating has been a beloved winter pastime in the Netherlands for centuries. A glimpse of some iconic skating moments from the collection. ❄️

👁️ https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/set/Schaatsen--3c199639-004d-497d-c404-08dd024ac88e

For centuries, horses have been central to art, symbolizing status, sport, and daily life. From meticulously composed portraits of racehorses to depictions of their strength and presence, artists have celebrated these remarkable animals in countless ways. 🐎

👁️ https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/nl/collectie

What do you see in Van Gogh’s gaze? 🧑‍🎨 
 
Van Gogh moved to Paris in 1886, where he discovered a new, vibrant approach to painting. In this self-portrait he experiments boldly: loose, rhythmic brushstrokes ripple across the canvas.

👁️ https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200107928

Seen from up close, it’s a spectacle of colour. But the moment you take some distance, the rhythm of the waves reveals itself. Jan Toorop painted this seascape in Katwijk, where he lived in 1887. 🌊

👁️ https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/20026426

Can love make you sick? 💔

In Elisabeth Geertruida Wassenbergh’s The Doctor’s Visit, a woman lies back while a doctor checks her pulse. It looks like a medical emergency, but the real story unfolds through symbols. Cupid, a ship at sea, a foot stove. They all point to one diagnosis: lovesickness!

This touching, intimate portrait was created near the end of Jean-Etienne Liotard’s first stay in the Netherlands. Portrayed here is the 65-year-old grandmother of his Dutch bride, Marie Fargues, whom he married in Amsterdam in 1756.

👁️ https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200108457

Our latest exhibition FAKE! explores how, even at the very beginnings of photography, carefully staged and manipulated photographs fooled audiences around the world. 📸

👁️ https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/whats-on/exhibitions/fake

Lets put a spotlight on Maria Sibylla Merian, a German naturalist and artist. She was famous for her detailed illustrations of insects and plants, and her pioneering work in entomology. 

👁️ https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/stories/10-things/story/maria-sibylla-merian-en

We wear them every day… but how do you wear your socks? 🧦

In the 17th century, stockings were a status symbol: silk, bright colours, and decorations showed wealth, taste, and elegance. Visible under skirts or breeches, they were a true fashion statement! 

👁️ https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection

Gold and silver for our Dutch skating heroines! 🥇🥈
Women’s skating competitions were held in the Netherlands as early as the 19th century.

In 1809, 64 young women raced across the ice in the town of Leeuwarden, all hoping to win the golden ear ornament. 

👁️ https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/20078759

Where do your thoughts drift when you let your mind wander? 💭🦋 

🖼 George Hendrik Breitner, Girl in a White Kimono, 1894. Bequest of Mr and Mrs Drucker-Fraser Bequest, Montreux 

👁️ Discover more: https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200108304

These 17th-century silver salt cellars were made by Amsterdam silversmith Johannes Lutma. They belonged to Emma Budge, a leading Hamburg collector whose plans to donate her collection were thwarted by the Nazis. 

👁️ https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/whats-on/exhibitions/in-the-rijksmuseum-print-cabinets

Visit our newest exhibition, Metamorphoses, now open! ✨

🖼️ Correggio, Jupiter and Io, ca. 1531–32. On loan from Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

👁️ https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/whats-on/exhibitions/metamorphoses

Isaac Israels is in his studio, surrounded by works in progress. Among them, a beach scene with figures and donkeys hints at Donkey Rides on the Beach. While not confirmed, the resemblance is striking. 🕵️‍♀️

👁️ https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/node/Isaac-Israels--e2bb73319447b7b0138340a94603fa28

Which flower would you give to a friend? 🌸✋

In these details from our collection, hands cradle, offer, and gather flowers. A simple gesture, repeated across centuries - sometimes tender, sometimes symbolic, sometimes fleeting.

👁️ https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection

Caravaggio’s masterpiece has been installed in our new exhibition Metamorphoses. The story of Narcissus tells of a man who fell in love with his own reflection, a fatal illusion that led to his transformation into a flower.

👁️ https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/whats-on/exhibitions/metamorphoses

Alida Assink is presented here as a strikingly attractive young woman. She is also portrayed full-length, something Kruseman usually reserved for members of the royal family. Alida was not one of them, yet her guardian commissioned her portrait in this way. 

👁️ https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200412737