Rembrandt House Museum

This moving museum, which is housed in Rembrandt's former residence on bustling Jodenbreestraat, offers a unique look into one of the Netherlands' greatest artists. The master painter spent his most prosperous years working on important commissions like The Night Watch and managing his painting business during this time.

As you move through the house's many rooms, the beautifully recreated interior gives the impression that you are traveling back in time to the 17th century. There are roughly 260 Rembrandt etchings in the museum's collection, however, not all of them are always on exhibit. There are also a few original copper platings.

History of Rembrandt House Museum :

The three-story canal mansion where the artist resided during the height of his fame now serves as the museum. It was created in 1606. Thanks to his affluent wife Saskia van Uylenburgh, Rembrandt was able to purchase it in 1639 for a significant sum of money. Between 1639 and 1658, he was the owner of the biggest painting workshop in the Netherlands.

But the house would ultimately be his downfall financially. Due to the lack of demand for his creations, he was unable to make mortgage payments, and in 1656 the house and its contents were sold to satisfy his debts. The detailed list provided by the debt collectors allowed for the accurate recreation of the museum's interior. Rembrandt lived out the rest of his days in less expensive quarters in the Jordaan neighborhood.

Before it was decided to convert the home into a museum to display the artist's collections of paintings and etchings, the property had descended into a condition of serious dilapidation over the years. Between 1908 and 1911, it underwent a renovation to return it to its original splendor. Queen Wilhelmina gave the Rembrandt House Museum it's official opening in June 1911.

Things to see:

The bedroom and living room of Rembrandt are located on the ground level. His box bed, which was popular during the period since it was believed that sleeping upright avoided mortality during the night, is also located here. He received his clients in an anteroom on the ground floor. Paintings by Rembrandt's mentor, his students, and his contemporaries adorn its walls.

The bright studio is upstairs, set up as though he had just popped out for a bite. The Print Room, a modest room devoted to his etchings, is across the hall from his Cabinet, a room stuffed with oddities he had gathered.