Finally, back to the beginning, my first full day in Amsterdam. I was so good. I headed to the health club at 8 and did 30 minutes of tredding kilometers. I just looked at my book, but could tell the other three were fast runners. Then a fancy Marriott breakfast buffet.
One of the triggers for my trip was the renovation (10-years-old) of the great Rijksmuseum, just re-opened last year. And I knew where to go. I chose the Marriott for its 6-minute walking distance, and got there by 9:30, shivering under all my layers as I watch gardeners planting! Of course there was no line. I had pre-purchased my ticket, unfortunately, as I didn't learn about the Museumkaarte (a year-long pass that's a value if you plan to make 4 big museum visits and gets you into many others as well AND lets you skip the ticket-purchase lines). I used up 10 minutes as they tried to figure where I had gotten the ticket. Alas, it turned out I had signed up as a Group. Indeed, groups were beginning to arrive by then.
We started with a visit to the late Middle Ages to see some prayer nuts. She used an iPad very effectively, as in when she could show us a close-up professional photo of this intricately carved "nut." You can imagine the pride of the person having this hanging from the belt!
My camera shot a different, less complex, nut, but you can see the quality difference.
The Great Hall on 2 has had enormous restoration. The walls were painted fashionably white in the '50s. The terrazzo floor with its grand designs had been replaced with wood, and new ones duplicating the originals are now in place. It would have been too complicated to get all the white paint off the original work so the extraordinary detail was re-painted. Window themes were chosen by the architect. Clearly not work by Tiffany! I don't care much for the representation of Rembrandt in the big arts window.
One of the triggers for my trip was the renovation (10-years-old) of the great Rijksmuseum, just re-opened last year. And I knew where to go. I chose the Marriott for its 6-minute walking distance, and got there by 9:30, shivering under all my layers as I watch gardeners planting! Of course there was no line. I had pre-purchased my ticket, unfortunately, as I didn't learn about the Museumkaarte (a year-long pass that's a value if you plan to make 4 big museum visits and gets you into many others as well AND lets you skip the ticket-purchase lines). I used up 10 minutes as they tried to figure where I had gotten the ticket. Alas, it turned out I had signed up as a Group. Indeed, groups were beginning to arrive by then.
The restoration has included some astonishing tasks, like creating a 2-level basement under the building, providing for a giant welcoming area, coat check, bathrooms, cafe, shop area to connect the two sides of the building. The now-open space had been filled in with offices, etc. over the years. Those all had to be taken out. Then, in a process I don't understand, they had to pour a floor that could support the building while they dug out for the basements; otherwise water would have flooded in there. Well, I'll get to more building info later. Here's the entry from the street:
The garderobe fellow whispered Go straight to 2; there's nobody there. And I did as directed, knowing I'd find Rembrandt's Night Watch, the most famous painting in the collection. In fact the building was designed in part to show it off. Entered from the front, one goes upstairs to a grand hall and then through heavy glass doors into the Court of Honor, at the far end of which hangs the painting. I'd seen it twice before, in the temporary exhibit space, when it was in a small dark space full of people, with a guard at the entry not to let it get overcrowded. This is quite the opposite. And I had it all to myself for a bit.
Of course no printed image could do justice. I took tours, in time, but there's also a wall-stash of large placards in English (also Dutch) with lots of good info on details in the painting. I predict this kid has a great life ahead!
Right around the corner, in one of the little "chapel" areas leading to the big one, I was surprised to find Rembrandt peacocks! Turns out that in his time peacocks were a delicacy for the well-to-do; the meat was used as filling for pasties. After being slaughtered, the birds were hung upside down to drain their blood, as he had depicted in this pantry.
I had reserved a space in an 11 a.m. Highlights tour, and enjoyed wandering until then. One of the things I found interesting was some new donor recognition windows. Here's one. Names are in the colored bars. More traditional windows in the original building featured names of donors, so I figure this was an updated version. Of course when museuming with Kenneth, the first place we always stopped was a donor recognition wall. There are lots of recognition windows here!
One of the paintings with the most reproduction-opportunities in the shop is Winter Landscape.
One of the amazing things about the museum is its website. You can download images of any of the treasures into your own "studio" and even work with them creatively (so it says). And the images are terrific - big enough to see details. And there are lots of interesting ones in here. This is another painting where a fine placard identifies and explains many of them. So I hope if you're interested you'll be able to see that when you double-click. I wasn't able to download Night Watch but if you go to the museum website you should be able to see it on your computer in the most phenomenal detail.
I probably loved this because of the blue-and-white china.
This was Petronella Dunois' dolls house in c. 1676 - the height of the city's glory. Wealthy women put these pieces of art together for showing off, not for playing. This is another museum image, so you should be able to see some great detail.
Having eaten the Marriott buffet breakfast this morning, being unwilling to go out in the 30º so early, I was feeling exactly like the 20-year-old Mr. Bicker, below. His father's portrait in conservative clothes was next to his. I loved the label, which ended with Gerard was not awarded as many key administrative positions in Amsterdam [as his father].
A grand research library can be viewed from above.
A highlight of the week began at 11 - a Highlights tour led by a smart, animated, experienced guide. Next time you go, if Evalina (sp?) is doing any tours in English, take them! She said 30 of the 80 rooms have 17th century things. The museum was built in 1885, and the location then was the south end of the city. Beyond that - fields with cows. The new basement is 9' high (deep?). The entry now is on one side of the bikers' path. The Spanish architects had a different plan, but the bikers sued and won!
The museum site has a great photo of it closed.
She pointed out that great change came in the last half of the 19th century with industrialization and paint coming in tubes, making a gigantic difference in painting. Gabriël was one who favored pictures with color and sunlight, protesting against the gray landscapes common among The Hague school painters:
She used the iPad again to show us what this painting looked like before the artist made it more salable by covering up some of the working class people with others obviously wealthy.
We stopped by a VanGogh self portrait done on cardboard and she talked a bit about him and impressionism. And then we went around to the old front and up the grand stairs with windows recognizing founders of the museum. The wall at their right recognized modern donors to the restoration.
The Great Hall on 2 has had enormous restoration. The walls were painted fashionably white in the '50s. The terrazzo floor with its grand designs had been replaced with wood, and new ones duplicating the originals are now in place. It would have been too complicated to get all the white paint off the original work so the extraordinary detail was re-painted. Window themes were chosen by the architect. Clearly not work by Tiffany! I don't care much for the representation of Rembrandt in the big arts window.
Walls were covered with paintings on canvas reflecting scenes in Dutch history. In the white-walls days those were removed and stored. But they're back. One example:
All the undecorated walls in the museum now are grey - 5 shades, "not 50," she said. They make a fine background for all the rich colors in the art. Next stop was a Hals painting, Portrait of a Couple that's most unusual for the era because they are so close together. She pointed out symbols of loyalty in it. I noticed the peacocks in the garden. [Another museum image; click for details]
On, then, to Night Watch. Almost noon, so it was packed with groups and random tourists. She noted that the militia groups that protected the city were ordinary people and it was important to the members to commission paintings and hang those in public places. Rembrandt found the group portraits boring. He highlighted some individuals to dramatic effect and got lots of complaints of course. He even added some figures like the allegorical girl with the chicken hanging on her dress.
She took us to the right where a smaller version hung. The copy shows that trimming was done to hang the original in the Town Hall 70 years later!
In a nearby gallery we stopped to admire a nearly 6' x 10' pen and ink on canvas [!] drawing of a battle (1657).
Also in the gallery, a 13' x 15' model of a late 17th century warship:
Evalina also does work at the Anne Frank House. When I asked if it would be smart to go there at 4 (it closes at 7 and I've heard tales of terrible lines), she asked for my name and said she'd call them right away. I should go to the left door. What a lovely gift.
The last object on the tour was the doll house pictured on the day 7 blog. Its outer shell was made of tortoise shell. The porcelain, silk, and paintings inside are remarkable. It cost $18,000 then!!
Nightwatch and Winter Landscape make me want to cry.
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