I have to confess that I have never really been into art museums. It’s just not my thing and yet I really appreciate great art, whether modern or otherwise. I guess that’s the nature of art that you generally like it or you don’t.
However, a Master must be called this for a reason and we were determined not to miss one of the worlds greatest names in art, Rembrandt, whilst visiting his home town.
This was the former home to the renowned Dutch Golden Age artist Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn.
So we decided to start by visiting his home, now a museum that captures how this Master lived and worked.
The electronic guide in English was brilliant at guiding us through his home helping us to understand what made this man tick.
He was so successful that his work was sort after by the wealthy elite. This provided him with enough money to buy this home, set up a studio and teach others his skills.
What I found most impressionable was the explanation, by one of the museum staff about colours that he used to paint his master pieces with. Colours come from the grinding of granites, rocks, sand, etc before they can be used as paint. In those days there was no DIY store to buy the myriad of Pantone references we have today. The colours became so expensive that Rembrandt would collect sand locally and create colours that had not been made before and it was with these that he bravely painted the Night Watchman, one of his most famous pieces. We were told that no one has ever painted using this technique since.
The house was made up of kitchen, living quarters and studios.
In one room there was a fireplace made from granite. Rembrandt mirrored the stone around the door frame to look like granite but in fact was just painted wood.
This was a great place to start exploring the art and culture of Amsterdam because it gave us a better understanding of the Master himself.
The I Amsterdam city card gave us free access to the museum so saved us the admission cost.
If you’re visiting Amsterdam it would be a real shame if you didn’t take time out to visit Rembrandts’ house whilst he had it. He eventually lost all his money and ended up having to rent.
Before you visit take a look at their website here https://www.rembrandthuis.nl
