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 Model of Dutch "Man-of-War"
1698 by breughel
On display are only the highlights of the Dutch Golden Age (17th. c.).
The two first rooms on the ground floor show the history of the Republic of the Seven United Provinces and the growth of the country to a world power thanks to its trade and fleet. As example of this maritime power is a 4 m. long model from 1698 of a 74 gun warship the "William Rex". (photo 1)
Room 3 shows the famous Doll's Houses, rooms 4 and 5 show silverware and Delftware.
Remembering my previous visits, what is now on display is less than 20% of the original historic and decorative arts collections.
Open each day 9 - 18 h., Friday 9 - 20.30 h.
Price: free up to 18 yr. From 19 yr : 11 €. With Museum card : free
Tickets can be bought online.
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 Still life by Willem Claesz.
Heda by breughel
The 15th, 16th and 18th c. paintings have been left aside. Also the 19th. c. Dutch school is stored somewhere what is a real pity because the Romantic school landscapes (Koekoek, Springer) and the excellent Dutch Impressionist Den Haag and Amsterdam schools (Maris, Mauve, Breitner, Israëls) are not shown.
The favourites are the Rembrandts, the "Night Watch" of course and two more rooms with paintings from him. Frans Hals and Jan Steen are present. My preference goes to the Vermeers and Pieter de Hoogh with his so called "keyhole views".
Some of the best Dutch Landscapes and Still Life paintings are on display. I always liked the still life with cheeses, a genre which was called "ontbijtgen" (breakfast) as well as the famous still life with gilt goblet from Willem Claesz. Heda.
(The -sz. found in Dutch names of that time is an abbreviation for -szoon = son of).
Again remembering my previous visits it seems to me that not more than 25% of the original collection of paintings is now on display.
It is an opportunity to visit the Amsterdams Historisch Museum where there is a good collection of Dutch paintings.
Open each day 9 - 18 h., Friday 9 - 20.30 h.
Price: free up to 18 yr. From 19 yr : 11 €. With Museum card : free
Tickets can be bought online.
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 Girl dressed in Blue" on the
Rijksmuseum facade. by breughel, 1 more photos
I got very much impressed by her gentle somewhat melancholic smile.
This girl about ten years old must be of a wealthy family according to her dress and jewels. It should be noted that in that time children were considered as mini adults and girls dressed like adult women.
J. Verspronck, as always in his portraits, painted with a perfect depiction of the tissues and the details. Look at the very fine blond hair of the girl, the dark blue eyes and the red cheeks.
I always found that this portrait expressed much tenderness and emotion.
When I saw that the museum curator had chosen a large reproduction of my favoured portrait of a "Girl dressed in Blue" to hang on the façade of the Rijksmuseum building I felt very pleased.
I don't know who she is. This wonderful portrait hangs in room 7.
Open each day 9 - 18 h., Friday 9 - 20.30 h.
Price: free up to 18 yr. From 19 yr : 11 €. With Museum card : free
Tickets can be bought online.
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No doubt this museum has the largest Van Gogh collection but… - here I might sound somewhat iconoclast - the dark paintings of his early period in Den Haag or Drenthe are not necessarily his highlights. Not everybody has to be fond of his potato subjects.
It is clearly written in the welcome leaflet of the museum: "His evolution from an inept but impassioned novice into a truly original master…" and "as a painter, he was largely self-taught."
This is evident from this chronological exhibition. Van Gogh experimented a lot and his experiments were not necessarily successful.
His art improved when Vincent reached Paris and assimilated the style of the Impressionist trend.
It appears that the talent of Van Gogh developed in the same proportion as the intensity of the sunlight. The summit is reached under the sun of the Provence.
The highlights of this Van Gogh collection are therefore to be found in the works of Arles (1888-89), Saint-Rémy de Provence (1889-90) and Auvers-sur-Oise where he committed suicide in July 1890.
Among the best works here on display are the "Yellow House", "The Bedroom", the 3 orchard paintings and my favoured ones "The Irises" and the quiet and peaceful landscape "The Harvest".
Impressive and disturbing is that extraordinary "Wheatfield with Crows" painted shortly before his dead (*).
On the third floor are a good number of French impressionists among which Monet and Pissarro.
There are often queues and crowds at this museum which is on the list of group visits. There are separate fast lanes for e-tickets and museum cards.
As this was my second visit I arrived around 17 h. when there was no queue anymore and I rushed through the early period of van Gogh to concentrate on the best paintings from the Provence period.
Open daily 10.00 to 18.00 h, Friday 10.00 to 22.00 h. Admission fees: Adults: € 12.50, 13-17 years: € 2.50
0-12 years: free admission. Free with Museum Card.
Tickets can be ordered online.
NEW: Special exhibition ALFRED STEVENS from 18/09/2009 till 24/01/2010.
Alfred Stevens was a Belgian painter (1823-1906) who met a lot of success in Paris with a modern form of realistic paintings showing elegant and intriguing women. I discovered him at the Musée d'Orsay and recommend very much this special exhibition showing 64 works.
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 "The Gouden Leeuw", Willem
van de Velde (Younger) by breughel, 4 more photos
The Historic Museum combines history and arts over 3 periods in 24 rooms of the former Civic Orphanage:
Period 1350-1550 at rooms 1-3 showing the story of the small settlement on the river Amstel.
Surprising are the excavated objects found in cesspits such as clay pipe fragments. The AHM has 200.000 archaeological objects of all kinds found in Amsterdam.
Period 1550-1815 is certainly the most interesting with rooms 4-12 who show a large number of art works of this period which includes the Golden Century.
Most interesting are models of shipyards and maritime paintings showing the Dutch maritime power of that age. Famous is the painting of Willem van de Velde the Younger "The Gouden Leeuw on the IJ at Amsterdam", (1686). This was once the former flagship of Admiral Cornelis Tromp.
Interesting is the model (1742) of an eastindiaman from the VOC (Dutch East India Company) being transported on a ship's camel. These were long caissons that encased the ship's hull. When full of air they raised the ship out of the water. The Amsterdam harbour was difficult for deep vessels to enter due to sandbanks.
From this period are also on display a large number of good paintings with landscapes, winter landscapes, town views, church interiors, still life and the famous civic guard paintings on which I will come back.
Period 1815-2000 with rooms 13-24 starts at the end of the French rule under Napoleon. The visitor will find here a beautiful doll-house as well as paintings from the very good Dutch Impressionist School.
It shows the happy times as well as the drama's (the terrible winter of 1944) of the modern Amsterdam.
There is a grand tour and a short one of the highlights.
Open: Monday to Friday 10 - 17 h
Saturday and Sunday 11 - 17 h
Price : 7,00 € (65+ 5,25€) (6-18 yr. 3,50€)
Free with museum card (can be bought here).
Photos are allowed.
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 Works at the Rijksmuseum. by breughel
"Opening Rijksmuseum weer later
AMSTERDAM - Het vernieuwde Rijksmuseum gaat pas na de zomer van 2010 open."
What is on display nowadays " the masterpieces special" is only a small part of the magnificent collections of the Rijksmuseum.
On a recent visit (ref. my tips hereafter) I visited the "masterpieces" now on display.
It was confirmed to me by technical personnel that the new museum would not open before end of 2010.
Fortunately I visited on several occasions the Rijksmuseum before the works started.
The present entrance is on the right side of the building.
There is a fast lane for e-tickets and museum card owners but … as there is only one safety check at the entrance of the building everybody has to follow the same queue.
I arrived at 9.15 and there was nobody in front of me! The early visitors of 9.00 h were already in and the groups had not yet arrived. Furthermore I was told that Wednesday was a less crowded day.
Open each day 9 - 18 h., Friday 9 - 22 h.
Price: free up to 18 yr. From 19 yr : 11 €. With Museum card : free
Tickets can be bought online.
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A new delay is announced in the Dutch press:
"De verbouwing van het Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam loopt circa twee jaar vertraging op. Door problemen met de aanbesteding kan de culturele instelling pas eind 2012 of begin 2013 de deuren heropenen." (De Volkskrant 26/02/2008).
OPENING END 2012 BEGIN 2013.
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 "Anatomy lesson by Dr. F.
Ruysch" Adriaen Backer by breughel
In the 17th century, Amsterdam and the United Provinces were among Europe’s foremost scientific centres. The quest for knowledge and for anatomical knowledge in particular, was not seen to be in conflict with religion. Even so, the dissection of a human body was not seen as a natural act. Permission was granted only sparingly, and only to well-known members of the universities, who would be allowed to perform dissections for teaching purposes or as public demonstrations.
We can see "The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Jan Deijman," (1656) by Rembrandt van Rijn.
Famous are the anatomy lessons of Dr. Frederik Ruysch by Adriean Backer (1670) and another of a child by Jan Van Neck.
Ruysch a prominent surgeon, obstetrician, and anatomist was the chief anatomist of the Amsterdam surgeons' guild.
Impressive these anatomy lessons!
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 watching the Flower Parade by sue_stone
We were lucky to get a seat outside at a cafe in Dam Square to watch the colourful procession go by. Leave a Comment Phone: 31 29 732 5100Directions: Aalsmeer to Amsterdam city center Finishes in Dam SquareOther Contact: corso.aalsmeer@inter.nl.net
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 Magna Plaza by sue_stone
Today it has been converted into a grand shopping centre, selling clothing, accessories and gifts.
Well worth a wander around. Leave a Comment
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 red light district by sue_stone
The street is lined with sex-shops, venues for live-sex shows etc and red-fluro light rimmed window after red-fluro light rimmed window of scantily clad temptresses, of all ages and size, standing in the windows.
Many of the windows conveniently opened right onto the street, so if you wanted to get better acquainted with one of the lovely ladies, they just open up the window, you can slip inside and then pull a curtain across the window....
You had to feel sorry for the fellows who, once satisfied, came back out onto the street, via the window, only to be met with the cheers of the passers-by! Leave a Comment Directions: Old town, near Nieuwmarkt
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- Nl-Hotel
Nassaukade 368, Amsterdam - Tulip Inn Amsterdam Riverside
Provincialeweg 38, Amsterdam - The Times Hotel
Herengracht 137, Amsterdam - Prinsenhuis Design Apartments
Prinsengracht 967, Amsterdam - Hotel Ravel
Emmastraat 35-37, Amsterdam - Hotel Savoy Amsterdam
Ferdinand Bolstraat 194, Amsterdam - Hotel Seven One Seven Amsterdam
Prinsengracht 717, Amsterdam - Mercure Amsterdam Arthur Frommer
Noorderstraat 46, Amsterdam - Hotel Ramenas
Haarlemmerdijk 61, Amsterdam - Quentin Arrive Hotel
Haarlemmerstraat 65, Amsterdam - Marriott Amsterdam
Stadhouderskade 12, Amsterdam - Hilton Amsterdam
Apollolaan 138, Amsterdam - Albus Grand Hotel
Vijzelstraat 49, Amsterdam - Park Plaza Victoria Amsterdam
Damrak 1-5, Amsterdam - Paganini Hotel Amsterdam
Stadhouderskade 68, Amsterdam
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