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The Milkmaid
Johannes Vermeer, c. 1660, painting, SK-A-2344
A maid concentrates keenly as she pours milk from a jug. It is a quiet, tranquil scene. The only movement is the flow of milk. Vermeer turned a simple composition of a prosaic subject into an intense work of art. It is in the rendering of light that Vermeer truly excelled, painting tiny dots for…
On display in Gallery of Honour
Banquet at the Crossbowmen’s Guild…
Bartholomeus van der Helst, 1648, painting, SK-C-2
Civic guards were the city’s militia. They were volunteers. In Amsterdam, each district had its own company with its own headquarters. In the 17th century, larger and grander buildings were built. Group portraits of the members lined the walls. In 1648, Van der Helst immortalised this Amsterdam…
On display in room 2.8
Gallant Conversation, Known as ‘The…
Gerard ter Borch (II), c. 1654, painting, SK-A-404
A man of the world, a soldier perhaps, is looking admiringly at the young woman in the splendid satin dress. They were once thought to be father and daughter. But perhaps the man is the woman’s suitor, and the older woman is a chaperone. The young woman’s pose, standing with her back to the viewer,…
On display in room 2.25
The Singel Bridge at the…
George Hendrik Breitner, 1898, painting, SK-A-3580
Breitner often took photos when preparing a painting. Several preparatory photos for this painting are also known. The way the woman is walking directly towards us and the way the picture is cropped gives it a photographic feel. Originally, Breitner’s subject was a maid, but following the negative…
On display in room 1.18
The Massacre of the Innocents
Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem, 1590, painting, SK-A-128
On display in room 2.1
A Pelican and other Birds near a…
Melchior d'Hondecoeter, c. 1680, painting, SK-A-175
Melchior d’Hondecoeter specialised in depicting birds. Here he painted a pelican, various ducks, a cassowary (left), a flamingo and an African crested crane. D’Hondecoeter was commissioned to paint the work by Stadholder William III and his wife Mary. It was intended for Het Loo palace, where…
On display in room 2.22
Portrait of Don Ramón Satué
Francisco de Goya, 1823, painting, SK-A-2963
Goya was well-known as a court-painter and for his idiosyncratic prints. He had already turned 76 when he painted this powerful portrait. Don Ramón was a judge in the highest tribunal of Castile. The casual pose and open collar have an informality Goya usually reserves for the portraits of his most…
On display in room 1.13
FK 23 Bantam
Frits Koolhoven, 1918, NG-2011-1
The F.K. 23 Bantam was developed in 1917 by Dutch aviation pioneer Frederick Koolhoven, then working as chief designer at British Aerial Transport Company. The biplane was intended as a fighter for the nascent Royal Air Force in the First World War. This craft was shown in 1919 at the First Aviation…
On display in room 3.2
Shipwreck off a Rocky Coast
Wijnand Nuijen, c. 1837, painting, SK-A-4644
On display in room 1.14
Battle of Gibraltar in 1607
Cornelis Claesz van Wieringen, c. 1621, painting, SK-A-2163
On display in room 2.1