Back to Amsterdam-4 Rembrandthuis

Rembrandt van Rijn lived in this home from 1639-1658. In this house he set up his own studio. His paintings were a success and he had the largest studio in Amsterdam. In 1642, a year after the birth of his son, his wife passed away and business went downhill. He had painted Nightwatch and those depicted had paid good money to be included in the painting. Some were upset that they were not front and center but had become background people. Orders for paintings, mostly portraits as they were very popular, drastically declined. He had more issues in his personal life and in 1659 declared bankruptcy. His house and his extensive art collection (he himself was a collector) were auctioned off. Rembrandt moved to another part of Amsterdam.

He did continue to paint, draw and etch. The etchings here at the museum are some of the finest ever done. He did get some additional commissions. Between 1663 and 1666, a plague epidemic killed his family and he died a year later.

We all really enjoyed this museum as well as the house itself. Included are many of Rembrandt's etchings, period pieces of furniture re-creating how the house was when Rembrandt lived there and even a recreation of the student studios. Rembrandt had a huge collection of "stuff" to be used for paintings. Everything from stuffed animals, to large seashells, crystal, to swords, plaster casts of human hands, feet, legs for students to study (and far cheaper than getting live models)... all sorts of stuff.

No pictures allowed, naturally, so no photos here inside. We could take photos of the outside of the building. It's the one with the red shudders.

The building was built in 1606. And this is the door Rembrandt used at the time. Today this door is blocked and you enter from the museum on the left of the house.

Our plan was to next visit a very old cafe, "famous" for how the building leans and also famous for views of a canal.The Cafe de Sluyswacht is a 17th C former lock keeper's house on the canal. We'd planned to have lunch there but they weren't going to open for another hour. You had to get at just the right angle to see how it leans. We'd seen buildings that lean more. Perhaps this is the only leaning cafe?

Rembrantplein- a square near the Museum. A statue of Rembrandt was erected there in 1876, In front of Rembrandt are multiple statues depicting the painting Nightwatch. There were too many people to get a good photo of this scene so I borrowed this one from the Internet. The statues were added to the square in 2006 on the 400th anniversary of Rembrandt's birth. The cast of Nightwatch traveled for a few years and then returned to the square.