Page 18 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2016 - Amsterdam

16 ❯❯ Top 10 Amsterdam Highlights

Rijksmuseum

The magnificent national museum of the Netherlands possesses
nearly one million Dutch works of art, only a fraction of which is on
display. It was established by King Louis Napoleon in 1808 in the
Royal Palace on the Dam, moving to its present location near the
Vondelpark in 1885. The main building, designed by P J H Cuypers,
underwent extensive renovation for 10 years, reopening in 2013.
The Kitchen Maid 1
The sense of realism in this
painting by Vermeer (c.1658) is
conveyed by his mastery of light,
colour and perspective. Seen slightly Two
Toilet
from below against a bare wall, the caskets
simple, sturdy girl seems almost
tangible – quiet and still, but for the
milk flowing from her jug (right).
The
FK23 Bantam
2 Kitchen
Designed by Frits Koolhoven in
Maid
1917, this aeroplane is an icon of the
Dutch contribution to aviation, with a
fuselage with wooden frames, wooden
propeller and wicker pilot’s chair.
Temple Guard
Our Lady of
4 6
Sorrows
This depiction of
temple guard Naraen This unique Flemish
Kongo (Ungyo) dates terracotta bust (c.1500–
from between 1300 and 1510) is a lifelike
1400 and is made from depiction of Mary in
wood with traces of mourning: the Mater
polychromy (left). Dolorosa.
Two Toilet Caskets
5
Created by the celebrated Parisian furniture
maker, André-Charles Boulle (c.1688), these paired
toilet caskets are a fine example of the artist’s work,
representing the Renaissance styles of tortoiseshell
and gilded bronze.
Windmill
7
on a Polder
Waterway
Paul Joseph Constantin
The Night
3 Gabriel’s balanced
Watch
composition (left) is
Rembrandt’s The Militia heavily influenced by
Company of Captain Frans Impressionist ideas,
Banning Cocq (1642) – with its use of quick
otherwise known as The brushstrokes. It was
Night Watch – is the acquired by the
museum’s prized Rijksmuseum in 1889
posession, given pride of and was considered
place in the Philips Wing. modern for the time.

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