Visits to the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum motivated my two day excursion to Amsterdam so I went to the city's museum quarter first thing Thursday morning and again Friday evening (when the two museums stay open late). In between, I visited the Civil Guard’s gallery, the Amsterdam Historical Museum, The Dutch Resistance Museum, the Anna Frank House and a few historic churches, including a Catholic church that was hidden within a canal house—but had an organ.
The Rijksmuseum opened at 9:00 a.m. and I arrived there shortly thereafter. I enjoyed Rembrandt’s “Old Man Reading,” “Jeremia Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem” and a couple of paintings for which Rembrandt's son Titus modeled. I wasn’t touched by his “Isaac and Rebbeca” / “The Jewish Bride” as I had expected to have been.
I had read about Rembrandt’s “The Night Watch” before arriving in Amsterdam and spent considerable time soaking it in in the museum. I learned that the work had been cut down so that it could be displayed in a certain display place back in the day. However, a copy of the work before trimming had made and was on display. The central figure of the piece was more clearly centered in the original and the bridge upon which the militia group is gathered is seen to be above a lower arch. A visit to the Civil Guard's gallery between my two visits to Rijksmuseum provided context for Rembrandt's masterpiece--militia groups would commission paintings and the members ofthe group that could afford to contribute were shown. Typically, the group was seen around a table or lined up in one or two rows almost as portraits in a yearbook. In some, there aren't even any weapons. Rembrandt's group portrait is unique in that the militia group is shown in action.
There were many other paintings that caught my eye in the Rijksmuseum's "The Masterpieces" exhibit (the highlights displayed in one wing of the museum while the building undergoes renovations). Jan Lievens’ “Still Life with Old Books” stood out to me but my favorite was Vermeer’s “The Kitchen Maid” (I anticipate commenting further on “The Night Watch” and “The Kitchen Maid” on my anticipated art commentary blog).
During my second visit to the Rijksmuseum,I revisited my favorites from the previous day and took time with the historical paintings including two of ships by Willem Vande Velde and a portrait the nationally renown naval commander Michiel de Ruyter, who’s tomb is in Amsterdam’s Nieuwe Kerk (“New Church” which is only new when compared with the city’s old church). The city’s past naval and colonial glory is celebrated in the Amsterdam Historical Museum but I didn’t take a lot of time there. I took slightly more time in the Dutch Resistance Museum—which makes the case that the Dutch didn’t support the Nazi’s during the World War II occupation.
In the Van Gogh museum I encountered a few of a series of ten paintings Van Gogh based on peasants painted by Millet. These were made in Van Gogh’s agressively flowing late style and in bright colors in contrast to the somber colored peasants he painted earlier. I planted myself in front of “Still Life with Bible” and noticed the charm of the young woman in “The Potato Eaters” together with a portrait of her. I can’t decide if I prefer Van Gogh’s early peasants and other somber pieces from his work in Nuenen or the passionate paintings of his last days. Throughout, Van Gogh’s feelings are certainly evident.
On my second visit to the Van Gogh museum I observed some of his drawings and then went back down for a look at the paintings they were studies for. I’ll finish “Lust for Life” by Irving Stone tomorrow.
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