Rijksmuseum

Would you wear lace? 🧵 

If you were a 17th-century nobleman like Gerard Bicker, you would. Lace has been a luxury item for as long as it has existed. Wearing it was reserved exclusively for the elite. Perfect for the eldest son of the mayor of Amsterdam.

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

Donkeys inspired painter Isaac Israels, who captured them often. He worked quickly and intuitively: ‘Never work too long. No more than two hours, or you’ll lose your freshness.’ 🫏

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

These mystical pendants are made of gold, pearl, enamel, and stones. Just as people today decorate their bags with charms or the latest trend, Labubus, people in the 1600s also loved adorning themselves. Pendants like these were worn on belts or chains. 👜

👁️ id.rijksmuseum.nl/200114313

In Noguchi’s world, art doesn’t stay on a pedestal. It spills into parks, gardens, and living rooms. This summer, the Rijksmuseum moves you outdoors with a free exhibition of Noguchi’s work in our gardens.

👁️ https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/whats-on/exhibitions/isamu-noguchi-in-de-rijksmuseumtuinen

Meet Chévalièr (e) d’Éon: A French diplomat, soldier and spy. D’Éon spent the first fifty years of her life living as a man, the following thirty years as a woman. From the 1770s onward, she adopted the appearance of a woman, by 1777 she claimed to be a woman. 🎩

👁️ https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/2001863

Here a handful of keys in our special collections, each one different in shape, material and decoration. Some are encrusted with enamel, others rusted with age. Some feature tiny portraits or delicate patterns in metal.

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

The Amsterdam merchant Herman Waller owned a country house in the village of ’s-Graveland. He commissioned the painter Pieter Gerardus van Os to create two views of the village. 🪴

👁️ https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/node/Pieter-Gerardus-van-Os--ec615a0d83839b73216590fc16949792

This painting shows a richly laid breakfast scene, set on a green cloth. The classic combination of a large rummer, a tazza, and a pewter plate with a lemon is typical of Heda’s work. 

👁️ https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/20028015

Amsterdam Pride has started! 🏳️‍🌈

Discover powerful stories of love and sexuality throughout history. From timeless art to untold narratives, our collection is rich with the diverse experiences that shape who we are. 

👁️ https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/stories/themes/queer

This bow-shaped brooch was made around 1650–1675. Its elegant form is known from a 1663 design by the jeweler of French king Louis XIV. Crafted from enamel, gold and precious stones, this double bow shape was worn by the wealthiest women of the time. 

👁️ https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200112481

A young woman has just received a letter. 💛 She looks expectantly. Subtle clues suggest the letter may concern love: a cittern in her lap, often a symbol of romance.

👁️ https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/stories/one-hundred-masterpieces/story/the-love-letter

These may be the hands of Elisabeth Bas, who not only managed the provisioning of the fleet of her husband, but also ran a distinguished inn. This painting was once attributed to Rembrandt, but was likely painted by his pupil Ferdinand Bol.

👁️ https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200108260

Miffy goes on an adventure in the Rijksmuseum! Join her as she explores the museum’s highlights. In the new book Miffy x Rijksmuseum, you and Miffy can discover the wonders of art together.

🛒 Order miffy x Rijksmuseum: https://www.rijksmuseumshop.nl/en/detail/index/sArticle/2409

Thanks for your nice comment. Enjoy the journey down the rabbit hole! 😊

Smooth, spiky, spiralled or striped, each of these shells from our collection once caught an artist's eye. In the 17th century, exotic shells were prized collector’s items: rare, beautiful and mysterious. 

👁️ https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/node/Zomer--6ac6563985484a81a3f2a4b277465a0b

A woman stands with a market bucket on her arm. She’s come to pick up a coat. Inside the tailor’s workshop. The tailors sit high up, raised above the floor to catch every beam of light. A hank of thread dangles above the table, ready for the next stitch. 🧵

👁️ https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200108320

What is in your fruit bowl? 🍋

Willem de Zwart’s still life, painted in the late 19th century, feels like a familiar kitchen scene. Alongside the crisp apples lies a bright yellow lemon. 

👁️ https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/20028535

We don’t know who the young woman in this painting is. She wears her hair in a coiffure à la Sévigné, a style that became fashionable in the 1660s. It’s clear she came from a wealthy family. The flower in her hand symbolizes purity and innocence. 🌹

👁️ https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/20026441

Which of these stunning teapots would steal the show at your next tea party? 🫖✨

The Rijksmuseum’s collection of teapots comes in all shapes, styles, and from different centuries. Who knew teatime could be this elegant? 🍵

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

Today we’re celebrating Rembrandt’s birthday! 🎉 In some of his paintings, Rembrandt would secretly smuggle in a self-portrait. The Night Watch is a famous example. Look closely behind the standard-bearer, and you’ll spot a man in a beret peering out.

👁️ https://beleefdenachtwacht.nl/en

What are you reading this summer? 📚

At first glance, this painting looks like a celebration of books and music. But look closer. The lute? Just a wooden case for the instrument. The books? Empty covers, used for storing bills and documents. 📖

👁️ https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200107940

To prevent being killed and having his wife captured by King Abimelech, Isaac concealed his love for Rebecca by pretending they were brother and sister. Their intimacy betrayed them when they thought they were not being spied on. ❤️

👁️ https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200107934

Balancing between sculpture and jewelry, this Art Nouveau pendant was created around 1901 in the atelier of Philippe Wolfers. The swan - crafted from gold, pearl and enamel - stretches its neck in a moment of movement and melody. 🦢

👁️ https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200112587

The plums in the basket and the woman’s exposed shoulder imbue the painting with an erotic undertone. The type of hat atop her head was mostly worn by Romani women at the time. Such hats were worn at the court in The Hague during costume parties and parades. 🧺

👁️ https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200516039

Did you know Vermeer initially painted the door of the house in The Little Street shut tight? And that the woman in the doorway is a mirrored copy of the figure he at first placed at the alley’s entrance? 🚪🖌️ 

Discover more 'Closer to Vermeer'. 

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

Insects in 17th-century still lifes were not just uninvited guests. Look closely at those lush canvases and you’ll spot tiny intruders: bees, beetles, caterpillars… 🐝🪲🐛

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

What is your favourite flower? 🌻

This drawing, made sometime between 1688 and 1698, is unsigned and anonymous. No name, no signature, but we can see that the yellow petals and green leaves were coloured by hand.

👁️ Discover it yourself: https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200394377

Which shell would you choose for your cabinet of curiosities? 🐚

In the 17th century, collectors paid high prices for exotic shells brought to the Netherlands by trading ships. Coorte captured their beauty in this painting, carefully arranged on a stone plinth.

👁️ https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200614287

While recovering from illness in Zandvoort aan Zee, Jozef Israëls was struck by the harsh lives of local fishermen. ⛵

The children in his painting show innocence and youth, but their worn clothes, toy boat, and the eldest’s burden hint at a hard life ahead.

👁️ https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200109406

This is a portrait of a kleptomaniac. Artist Fiona Tan explores this fascination in our latest exhibition Fiona Tan: Monomania, combining historical objects from the Rijksmuseum’s depot with her own work.

👁️ https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/whats-on/exhibitions/fiona-tan-monomania