Rijksmuseum Reopened

If you are visiting Amsterdam for IBC, do not miss the renovated, recently reopened Rijksmuseum. Pierre Cuypers was the architecture of the original building, opened in 1885. It kind of looks like a castle. Renovations began in 2004 and were completed in April 2013

The architects for the renovation were Antonio Cruz and Antonio Ortiz from Seville, Spain. Their design provided a below-street level Atrium linked by a passageway, crossed by a pedestrian and bicycle road above.

Wilmotte, who worked on the  interior of the Louvre, did the interior design: . display cases, ornament lighting, and color scheme.

But the best part is the lighting. It is glorious. You can see the paintings. Unlike another museum, ummm…in Los Angeles…which is darker than a Gordon Willis scene, the renovated Rijksmuseum’s collection is suffused with soft, overhead daylight, from frosted skylights above, augmented by well-placed electric fixtures. I suspect they may have asked a few cinematographers, who shared a well-known trick for minimizing kicks in prop art. Most of the Rijksmuseum’s paintings are angled–tilted down, to minimize reflections.

Rembrandt’s “Night Watch,” which is neither at night nor a watch, previously hung in a dark temporary space. We knew that the “night” part of the title came from the century of tobacco smoke that had darkened the painting. Restoration revealed that it was indeed a day scene of a local militia. Now  the iconic painting can actually be viewed in more than eye-strain conditions.

Click on thumbnail to begin slideshow:

 

 

 

 

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1 Response:

  1. Bart says:

    Could it be informative to the readers to add that Jan de Bont (A.S.C.) directed a series of three commercials/short films — as part of the opening campagne.

    One to the films here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_81hkx1Iww

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