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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
Winter Landscape with Ice Skaters
Hendrick Avercamp, c. 1608, painting, SK-A-1718
Hendrick Avercamp turned the winter landscape into a subject in its own right. A typical feature of his early work is the high horizon. This enabled Avercamp to focus on the dozens of figures on the ice. He showed all kinds of uncouth details in this bird’s-eye view, including couples making love…
On display in room 2.6
River Landscape with Riders
Aelbert Cuyp, c. 1653 - 1657, painting, SK-A-4118
Travellers are resting their horses in a sun-soaked river landscape. To judge from their orange shawls, they seem to be Dutch army officers. Cuyp saw these steep hills when he travelled along the River Rhine between Nijmegen and Cleves. It was probably the sketches he drew there that formed the…
On display in Gallery of Honour
Portrait of a Girl Dressed in Blue
Johannes Cornelisz. Verspronck, 1641, painting, SK-A-3064
What made this such a popular portrait? That it shows a pretty child dressed in her finest clothes? As was usual at the time, the girl actually has an adult appearance. Her facial expression is all that shows she is playing the role. Unfortunately, we no longer know who she was.
On display in Gallery of Honour
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
Woman Reading a Letter
Johannes Vermeer, c. 1663, painting, SK-C-251
In a quiet, private moment, a young woman stands, engrossed in reading a letter. It is morning, and she is still wearing her blue nightrobe. All the other colours are subordinate to its radiant lapis lazuli; yellow and red hardly make an appearance. Vermeer rendered the different effects of the cool…
On display in Gallery of Honour
The Fête champêtre
Dirck Hals, 1627, painting, SK-A-1796
Dirck Hals mostly painted people enjoying themselves, yet often included a moral message. In this painting of an ostensibly frivolous party, the chained monkey in the foreground represents man living in sin and unable to free himself. It is an admonition to the viewer to avoid licentious behaviour.…
On display in room 2.6
The Massacre of the Innocents
Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem, 1590, painting, SK-A-128
On display in room 2.1
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
Worship of the Golden Calf
Lucas van Leyden, c. 1530, painting, SK-A-3841
On display in room 0.6