Rembrandt House Museum

The Rembrandt House Museum (Dutch: Museum Het Rembrandthuis) is a historic house and art museum located on the Jodenbreestraat in the center of Amsterdam. It occupies the former residence of the Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn, who lived and worked in the building between 1639 and 1658, using it as his home, studio, and art dealership. Established as a museum foundation in 1907 and opened to the public in 1911, the institution provides a detailed reconstruction of the artist's living quarters and working environment based on his 1656 bankruptcy inventory. The museum also holds an almost complete collection of Rembrandt's etchings, alongside paintings by his contemporaries and pupils, and has expanded to include a modern wing for temporary exhibitions and contemporary art.

The museum's collection is anchored by an almost complete holding of Rembrandt's etchings, encompassing 260 of his 290 known prints, alongside several of his original copper printing plates. The early acquisition policy for these works was shaped by painter Jan Veth, with subsequent purchases at auction and support from patrons and the state becoming crucial as Rembrandt prices soared in the latter half of the 20th century. Beyond works by Rembrandt himself, the museum holds paintings by artists who worked in Amsterdam before his 1631 arrival and served as his models, as well as works by his pupils. This reflects Rembrandt's own use of the house as a gallery and art dealership. Additionally, the institution maintains a reconstructed cabinet of curiosities containing objects Rembrandt collected, such as coins, butterflies, stuffed crocodiles, antlers, and shells. In recent years, the collection scope has expanded to include contemporary art, with acquisitions of works by artists like Natasja Kensmil, Milan Gies, Marlene Dumas, Reinder Homan, Iriée Zamblé, and Timothy Voges.

Among the notable etchings in the museum's possession are Abraham's Sacrifice from 1655 (measuring 15.6 by 13.1 centimeters), The Ruins of the Old Town Hall of Amsterdam, The Flight into Egypt, David and Goliath, the fourth state of The Three Crosses, Self-Portrait with Bushy Hair, and Landscape with Three Trees. Paintings by Rembrandt's teacher Pieter Lastman are significant highlights, including The Crucifixion from 1616, Abraham's Sacrifice from 1612, and The Mourning of Abel from 1623, alongside works by Jan Pynas. Pupil Ferdinand Bol is represented by Christ Appearing to Mary Magdalene, painted after a Rembrandt composition, and the 1641 painting Shepherdess in a Landscape, donated to the museum in 2021 by Mr. and Mrs. Hoogsteder. Material-technical research in 2019 confirmed that two pots found in 1997 in Rembrandt's cesspool were used by the artist, one containing remnants of a quartz and clay mixture he utilized to prepare his canvases, a practice curator Leonore van Sloten noted was unique to Rembrandt during his residency in the house. These pots are now on display.

The historical house is situated in Amsterdam-Centrum on the Jodenbreestraat, historically the Sint Anthonisbreestraat in the Jodenbuurt district. Visitors enter through the modern museum wing and proceed into the historic structure via the basement, which contains a large kitchen where the household ate and where the maidservants slept. The ground floor features a large entrance hall and two reception rooms that Rembrandt used as showrooms for his art and that of the painters he represented, with one room also serving as his bedroom. The upper floor houses his reconstructed painting studio, equipped with an intaglio printing press for demonstrations, and his cabinet of curiosities. The modern wing, opened in 1998, provides space for two exhibition galleries, administrative offices, a museum shop, and a library housing the Rembrandt Information Center.

The Rembrandt House Museum is located in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and has attracted around 200,000 visitors annually since 2008, reaching a record of over 280,000 visitors in 2019. The modern wing hosts temporary exhibitions throughout the year featuring works by Rembrandt, his contemporaries, and modern followers. Notable exhibitions have included Rembrandt's Social Network, Inspired by Rembrandt, and Laboratory Rembrandt during the national Rembrandt Year in 2019, as well as Peter Vos: Metamorphosis (2016), Rembrandt's Naked Truth (2016), Glenn Brown (2017), Govert Flinck and Ferdinand Bol (2017-2018), HERE. Black in Rembrandt's Time (2020), Hansken, Rembrandt's Elephant (2021), and RAW (2022). The building's iconic status was further cemented in 1976 when it served as the model for the 48th Delft blue porcelain house issued by KLM.