What To See In The Rijksmuseum

The Dutch Golden Age is a refreshing change 


Amsterdam is probably on your travel bucket list for many reasons, and art may not be so prominent on your itinerary. If you can pull yourself away from some of the city’s other attractions, the Rijksmuseum is a must-see (and is a tad more family friendly). Here’s what to seek out in the national museum and art gallery.

Rembrandt's The Night Watch, 1642

Dutch Golden Age
Like many people, you may be bored of endless British museums dedicated to the Renaissance, nativity scenes or uninspiring portraits of monarchs. The Dutch Golden Age was a period in the 17th century that provides a refreshing change from this. Rembrandt is the big name here and his 1642 painting, The Night Watch, is one of the most famous pieces in the museum. But, some of the other paintings from this era are just as fascinating and entertaining, with many focussing on daily home life. Dutch artists loved a good raucous scene, such as Jan Steen’s Two Kinds of Games, where a gross old man basically gropes the landlady whilst the other men play blackjack. Look out for Steen’s other paintings, including The Merry Family, where he manages to convey a really noisy scene just using oil on canvas.

Jan Steen, Two Kinds Of Game, 1660s

Deeper Meaning
Most artists would claim their paintings have deeper meanings, but Dutch art became particularly famous for its symbolism. A good way to suss them out is to go in with the mind of a teenage boy, basically look out for sexual connotations everywhere. The guy holding a baguette? The soldier’s fingers clasping a limp glove? The man holding a recorder between his legs? The operative word here is ‘phallic’. Even a feathered hat has been linked with excessive lust. It’s not just sexual innuendo, though, as symbolism associated with death was another important theme. This was a category called ‘vanitas’ and is where still life symbolises death. Look out for limp flowers and skulls, like in Mignon’s 1660 piece Stilleven met bloemen en een horloge, where the addition of a watch adds more layers of metaphor about fleeting time and end of life.

Abraham Mignon, Stilleven met Bloemen en een Horlage, 1660

 
Houses
This links to the interest in everyday scenes, as well as to important symbolism. This is another category though, as you’ll notice loads and loads of scenes of homelife, but with very few men around. Vermeer is the big name in this theme, with pieces including The Milkmaid, Woman Reading a Letter, and The Little Street. They’re famous predominantly because of their skill, the milk being poured is done in intricate and intimate detail, but there are deeper meanings here too, with often moral implications where women were left alone and then courted by men. Questions of fidelity are implied with portraits of the man of the house looking over the scene.
Johannes Vermeer, The Little Street, 1657

Tulips
Well, obviously. You’ll probably see these in tourist shops all over the country, but you may not know why they became so important. Tulip bulbs became really popular in the 1630s, and thus reached extraordinarily high prices. In February 1637, the Dutch stock market crashed when many people went bankrupt over tulip bulbs. Bollongier’s Tulips in A Vase, painted in 1639, relates to how fleeting earthly beauty is.

Hans Bollongier, Tulips in A Vase, 1639


Modern Art
Yes, I’ve spent most of this going on about the Dutch Golden Age, because it is so different from what you may find in an Italian gallery for instance. However, there is loads more to see in the museum. Of course, being in the Netherlands, you can’t miss Van Gogh and his fellow impressionists, although actually, the best place to see his work is probably the Van Gogh Museum down the road, which of course, has a larger collection.

Conceptual Art
There is also a whole floor dedicated to later works which are a lot more complex and conceptual. They’re not to everyone’s taste but Ferdi’s 1968 Womb Tomb is worth a visit, if only so you can say you stood next to a giant hairy womb sofa.

Ferdi, Womb Tomb, 1968

Dodgy Imperialism?
This is a room that is quite challenging, as everything in it is now officially ‘Dutch property’, but is all the result of imperialistic wars and colonisation. The Banjarmasin Diamond, for instance, was taken from round the neck of Sultan Panembahan Adam Van Banjarmasin of South Borneo in 1875. It has been declared state property and now sits on display. It’s important to go to displays like this and think about the morals of these issues, and whether we can learn more about Java and Bornean communities this way, or whether these objects should be on display at all.
One of the dolls houses on display 

Dolls Houses
On a lighter subject is this room filled with two huge dolls houses. They weren’t built for kids but for wealthy women who dedicated a lot of time and money to making them as realistic as possible. Petronella Oortman’s dolls’ houses, which you can see here, are unusual as the pieces were made entirely in the same way and using the same materials as their regular counterparts. Her dolls’ house cost as much as an actual house on the canal in Amsterdam, which is pretty mind blowing. They will definitely make you either want to crawl inside and live there, or go out and start collecting Playmobil.

So, there you have it, a rough guide of some major attractions in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Of course, there’s always more to see, but this should give you a good start…

Let me know in the comments what your favourite piece is in the museum.

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Review- Carmen: Visually Flawless


10 metre high hands rise up from a lake, dropping a pack of cards and clasping at a 6 metre long cigarette. The cards, measuring at 30 sq metre each, frame the backdrop for Carmen On the Lake. This is the latest theatrical event to show at the Bregenz Festival, Austria. The iconic floating stage has become renowned for its spectacular sets. For one night only on the 14th September, Carmen will be broadcast to cinemas around the world. The falling cards were designed by British set designer, Es Devlin, and are as eye-catching as they are relevant to the concept of the opera.

Daniel Johansson and Gaelle Arquez as Carmen and Don Jose

Carmen, the French opera by Georges Bizetcentres on the eponymous fiery gypsy Carmen. From Carmen comes some of the best known arias in opera including ‘The Habenera’ and The Toreador Song.’ There is a large cast, contributing to the vast scale of the show. Each member is hugely talented, hitting each note of these operatic numbers and filling the words with meaning. Despite the language barrier for English viewers, there will be no difficulty in understanding their emotion.

On the lake in Bregenz sits the stage designed by Es Devlin 

Directed by Kasper Holton, this latest rendition is exceptionally accomplished, staying faithful to the original opera whilst utilising modern technology and costumes. Gaelle Arquez as Carmen is a perfect casting, as she is both visually compelling and entirely believable in her portrayal of the title role. Carmen is not very likeable, and is a powerful and flawed female character. Her opening lines include ‘If you do not love me, I love you. But if I love you, be careful.’ For an opera originally performed in 1875, this is an astute understanding of a complex woman. Arquez manages to spit out these lines, at once showing self-awareness, strength and hidden vulnerability, making the final scene even more poignant. Equally, Daniel Johansson as Don Jose is able to play a confused male lead, whose entire character evolves and darkens throughout the show. Carmen’s private dance for Jose in Act 2 was a particularly well-acted scene from both Arquez and Johansson as they portrayed a man torn between love of a woman and duty for his country.

The show utilises the lake itself as a prop

Visually, Carmen on the Lake is flawless, utilising the lake itself as a prop. The stage is lowered to allow it to be submerged at points. Luke Halls’ video projections onto the cards allowed for multiple angles of viewing the drama as it unfolds, symbolising Carmen’s own, inescapable tragic fate. For example, as we are introduced to Carmen, a huge Queen of Hearts is turned over behind her. The costumes by Anja Vang Kragh are stunning and furthermore convey deeper symbolism and character development. As Es Devlin explains in the intermission feature, it took two years to construct the stage. It was a huge undertaking but the payoff is evident in every thrilling moment of the show.


The final scene was completely absorbing, a true mastery of staging, directing and acting. It is a moment you will want to rewatch.  The broadcast on the 14th is sure to be an unforgettable spectacle and should not be missed. 

To find a showing near you head here. 
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