Getting started with the collection:
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
MISSION MASTERPIECE
1 July to 3 September 2023
Young visitors and their families will get the chance to investigate real works of art in the Rijksmuseum – using the same techniques as the experts who studied The Night Watch. Learning by doing children will find out what goes on behind the scenes in the museum collection. They discover about the diamonds on the crown worn by King William I of the Netherlands, check whether the porcelain statue of a macaw is still intact, and learn how to identify a Vermeer. The entire Philips Wing will be transformed into a huge research lab for Mission Masterpiece, where the whole family can use microscopes and x-ray machines as they search for genuine masterpieces.
Mission Masterpiece is made possible in part by ING, KPN, AkzoNobel, Zabawas and the Rijksmuseum Fonds.
NEW HORIZONS
30 June to 3 September 2023
This summer’s New Horizons exhibition at the Rijksmuseum showcases highlights of modern colour photography. Over the past few years, the Rijksmuseum has been increasingly active collecting modern colour photography. This exhibition comprises 30 photographs by Dutch and foreign photographers such as Viviane Sassen, Michael Wolf, Pieter Hugo and Ruud van Empel. Most of the exhibits were either gifted to the museum or purchased with the support of private funds, and are being shown for the first time. *The Photo Gallery of the Rijksmuseum is supported by Baker McKenzie.
RICHARD LONG
26 May to 29 October 2023
The 10th edition of the annual sculpture exhibition in the Rijksmuseum Gardens is devoted to the work of British artist Richard Long. Born in 1945, Richard Long is considered one of the world’s foremost contemporary artists. His work comprises, among other things, subtle interventions in landscapes – often in the most remote locations in the world – that he explores by walking. Long is installing eight works in this exhibition, six of them entirely new. His four ‘grassworks’ at the Rijksmuseum Gardens mark something of a return for the artist to the dawn of his career and 1967’s *A Line Made by Walking.
This exhibition is made possible in part by Pon, the Rijksmuseum Club and a private donor through the Rijksmuseum Fonds.
MUSIC!
1 June to 27 November 2023
There's Music! in the print galleries! This summer the Rijksmuseum presents musical highlights on paper alongside historical musical instruments. The more than 60 objects in Music! span 300 years, from the 16th to the 18th century. They include the oldest surviving French trombone, made in 1593, a Venetian lute dating from 1637, and drawings by the French artist Jean-Antoine Watteau.
The display is accompanied by music from each period in the galleries.
A WATCHFUL EYE
1 June to 27 November 2023
The Rijksmuseum is marking the 150th anniversary of the arrival in Suriname of the first Indian indentured labourers with a display of 30 photographs and objects from the first generations. The display pays particular attention to the female perspective within the community that developed in Suriname following the abolition of slavery.
REMBRANDT'S THE STANDARD BEARER IN THE GALLERY OF HONOUR
Now on display
Following a national tour, Rembrandt’s masterpiece The Standard Bearer (1636) is now on display in the Gallery of Honour at the Rijksmuseum, alongside the artist’s celebrated Night Watch (1642). *
Purchased by the Dutch State with the support of the Rembrandt Association, The Friends Lottery and the Rijksmuseum Fonds.
NEW IN THE ASIAN PAVILION
19 April to 16 October 2023
In 2023, the Asian Pavilion is placing its focus on painting. The 12 hanging scroll paintings on display from 19 April will show how artists from China and Japan see nature: from majestic landscapes to intimate ‘portraits’ of plants, flowers and animals. Another display will present the generous gift of modern painted fans from the Taiwanese artist Yi-Tsai Chiang. His work engages in dialogue with the old masters and offers a modern interpretation of the genre in a great variety of styles.
UNDER/WEAR
December 2022 –16 June 2024
under/wear* is a Rijksmuseum Special Collections display tracing shifts in underwear trends between 1640 and 1940 – from linen underpants belonging to 17th-century Dutch ruler Hendrik Casimir I to early 20th-century stocking suspenders. Underclothing was purely functional in the 17th century, but from the 19th century onwards undergarment increasingly became subject to changes in fashion. This was the era of corsets, petticoats, crinolines, chemise undershirts and ‘directoire’ knickers. The display is running until 16 June 2024.
DRAWING OUTDOORS
22 July to 3 September 2023
Daily 11 AM to 4.15 PM
There are easels in the Rijksmuseum Gardens every day during the summer holidays. Teachers give tips and provide the necessary materials, such as black charcoal, pastels and large sheets of paper. Together or alone, everyone can join.