In 2019, the Netherlands celebrate the 350 th anniversary of the disappearance of one of their greatest painters, Rembrandt van Rijn, with many major exhibitions in Amsterdam and throughout the country. A good opportunity to rediscover the works of this genius of 17C painting and to immerse yourself in the blessed era of the Dutch Golden Age.

Rembrandt and the Dutch Golden Age

Painter, storyteller, engraver, designer, collector. Rembrandt (1606-1669) is an immense artist with innumerable facets, whose genius hatched during the Dutch Golden Age. 350 years after the master’s death, the Netherlands is celebrating his work and his era throughout 2019.

The country enjoyed an unprecedented economic and artistic development in the 17 th century: its great maritime power and mind especially forgiving then attract wealth as talent. The avant-garde is jostling there. The result is major scientific advances, and above all an artistic creativity which brings Dutch painting to its peak.

It is at the heart of this cultural effervescence that Rembrandt developed his formidably innovative art. This uncompromising portrait painter first illustrated himself by painting the bourgeois of Amsterdam, but he refused to specialize and embraced the most diverse genres and styles throughout his career. Thus, he addresses mythological themes as well as landscapes, female nudes and history painting.

The virtuosity with which Rembrandt plays on shadows and materials gives great intensity to his paintings. The idealization of bodies is abandoned in favor of expressiveness: we also find this raw realism in other great painters emblematic of the Dutch Golden Age such as Vermeer, Nicolas Maes or Frans Hals , to whom the country also pays tribute in 2019.

In the 17 th century, Dutch notable snapped these pictures and spend many orders to artists, developing a market dynamic art. The thematic year “Rembrandt and the Golden Age in the Netherlands” allows you to explore this long period of prosperity through the numerous exhibitions and activities organized across the country. The museums, monuments and architecture of the major cities of the Dutch Golden Age are thus highlighted by these exceptional events. This is the perfect opportunity to (re) discover the Netherlands!

Rembrandt year in Amsterdam

Fifteen exhibitions celebrate the legacy of the Golden Age and its most illustrious figure during 2019. In Amsterdam, where Rembrandt established himself in 1631, let us notably mention the Rijksmuseum which allows you to admire for the painter’s entire collection for the first time. In addition, the museum alone concentrates three remarkable exhibitions:

– “Tous les Rembrandt”, from February 15 to June 10, 2019, is a magnificent retrospective that allows you to discover the genius of the master in all its forms, from intimate self-portraits to large spectacular scenes.

– In July 2019, the restoration of the famous painting La Ronde de Nuit will also be the subject of an exhibition. The most advanced conservation techniques will be presented to the public.

– Organized in collaboration with the Prado Museum, the exhibition “Rembrandt-Velasquez” features look the works of these two great painters of the 17 th century between 11 October 2019 and 19 January 2020.

Guided tours, readings and workshops dedicated to Rembrandt and his time are also on the program of the Rijksmuseum.

Finally, from 1 st January to 31 December 2019, the Amsterdam National Maritime Museum offers a virtual tour of a historic port of 17 th century entitled “Dare to discover”, to understand the major importance of maritime trade during the Golden age.

Rembrandt year in the rest of the Netherlands

If Amsterdam is the cradle of this golden age, many other Dutch cities have also stood out and honor their glorious past in 2019:

– In Leiden, Rembrandt’s hometown, the Lakenhal museum devotes an exhibition to the painter’s early works between November 3, 2019 and February 9, 2020.

– From April 28 to September 8, 2019, the historical museum of The Hague traces the expansion of this city which was then a center of power through the exhibition “The Golden Age in The Hague”.

– It is also in The Hague that the Mauritshuis museum celebrates the work of Nicolas Maes, one of Rembrandt’s most remarkable students, from October 17, 2019 to January 19, 2020.

– In Delft, the exhibition “Out of the shadow of Vermeer” celebrates Pieter de Hooch and his emblematic paintings of the baroque movement at the Prisenhof museum , from October 11, 2019 to February 16, 2020.

Museums to visit Rembrandt and the Golden Age to visit

To find out more about the Dutch Golden Age, there are many permanent exhibitions that allow you to explore this fascinating era further. In Amsterdam, Rembrandt’s house (Rembrandthuis) , where the painter lived from 1639 to 1656, reveals behind the scenes of his life and his work. We discover in particular his studio, where he painted and taught, his daily life, his engravings as well as a fascinating cabinet of curiosities.

North of Amsterdam, the port city of Hoorn is home to the Westfries Museum , where permanent collections dedicated to the Dutch Golden Age are on display. These immersive exhibitions give the impression of living in the 17 th century.

Finally, the city of Enkhuizen, which was also an important stopover for merchant ships of the time, includes the Zuiderzee open-air museum. This recreates the life that we led in the region during the Golden Age. The magnificent port of Enkhuizen and the buildings of its old town also bear witness to these splendours of yesteryear, among which it is so good to stroll in this year 2020.

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