After the trip there and back, we decided that if we didn’t pick up COVID today, we’re probably in the clear for the rest of this trip. There’s no real logic to that except that we were in crowded conditions the whole day. On the bus, the man (maskless) behind us hacked throughout the 60 minute departure delay and the hour long drive. We arrived in Amsterdam later than our timed-entry ticket to the museum, so took a cab the Rijksmuseum. The museum itself was packed and people were agressive in pushing towards what they wanted to see. We went with the flow, enjoyed the audio tour of the museum highlights and breathed deeply when we got back outside. It was a drizzly day, so we took a crowded tram to the train station and caught the express back to Rotterdam where the ship was waiting. It was still a little drippy, but we opted to walk the 2 miles to the dock. It was nice to be outside!
I think people here are as tired of masking and adjusting as folks are in the USA. It’s been a long haul for everyone.
I love this museum and especially its 17th century Dutch masterpieces. It’s been several years since I was at the Rijksmuseum. The exterior remains just as striking, and the galleries are of course phenomenal. The interior courtyards have been covered in a soaring glass roof, encompassing a restaurant, ticket sales, information booths and audio guide rentals. The brick walls of the previously exterior courtyard walls are now the interior walls of the enclosed space.
Stock photo showing the interior courtyard.
I’ve been collecting Vermeer sightings the way I collect Michelangelos. The Rijksmuseum has four. I was happy to see that The Milkmaid, which had been loaned out earlier this year, had returned.
The Little Street is Vermeer’s only known street scape, and is somewhat unusual for the era. There’s bit a lot of research and speculation about this location. A prime candidate is building in Delft - Vermeer’s hometown - in which Vermeer’s aunt lived for several decades.
Marten Soolmans and his wife, Oopjen, are the only couple whom Rembrandt painted in full-length, life-size standing positions. His footwear and tights were much more flamboyant than her low-rise black buckled pumps that peeked demurely from below her long black skirt.
Jan Steen is a master at story telling through painting, often with a sense of humor or moral purpose. The weeping boy on the left has been naughty and received only a switch in the shoe he left out for Father Christmas. The little girl is delighted with her new doll, while the little boy in the center seems entirely too gleeful at his brother’s distress. (Perhaps he will be punished next Christmas?)
The library, where one is reminded that we have 2 eyes and only one mouth. This room is for reading; not speaking.
Arguably the most famous work in the museum is Rembrandt’s Night Watch. It stood alone last time I was here. Today it is undergoing a massive evaluation. Over several months, it was carefully pinned and stretched to be removed from its frame. It stands behind a protective barrier at the end of the hall, with imaging and other equipment behind it. Operation Night Watch began 3 years ago. Its mission: to determine the best treatment for the painting. High-resolution photography, imaging and computer analysis are being employed.
The painting used to be larger; it was trimmed on 3 sides to fit between 2 doors when it was moved from its original location in the Musketeers’ guild hall to the Amsterdam Town Hall in 1715. It was deliberately damaged three times in the 20th century: by a disgruntled navy cook, a Dutch schoolmaster under the impression it was his divine mission to destroy it, and - even though under permanent guard by this point, by an unemployed Dutchman who sprayed sulfuric acid on it.
Both the Rijksmuseum and the Amsterdam Centraal Station were designed by the Dutch architect Pierre Cuypers. It’s easy to spot similarities. While probably best known for these two monumental buildings, he’s also responsible for designing over 100 churches,
Rijksmuseum
Amsterdam Centraal Station
We walked across the Erasmus Bridge to reach the MS Rotterdam, and enjoyed a view of the Hef, which has been in the news recently. The Hef is a beloved, decommissioned railroad bridge that is a well known Rotterdam landmark and heritage site. It recently came to light that the luxury yacht company building a $550 million super yacht for Jeff Bezos had applied to temporarily dismantle the Hef so that the yacht, with its super-tall masts, could pass through after construction. There has been a lot of hullabaloo since, including subversive plans to egg the yacht if it passed through the dismantled bridge. The Dutch are known for a Calvinistic sense of restraint, and apparently are not happy with ostentatious displays of wealth. At this time, the request has been withdrawn, but the story remains to be completed.
The Hef, from our ship
No comments:
Post a Comment