Rijks Museum

Rijks Museum or Ryks Museum (both: rīks) [key], Dutch national museum in Amsterdam, founded in 1808 by Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, King of Holland, as the Great Royal Museum in the Royal Palace. In the same year, 225 paintings from the National Museum in The Hague (est. 1798) were added to the collection, and the city of Amsterdam contributed seven paintings, including Rembrandt's Shooting Company of Capt. Frans Banning Cocq and Syndics of the Drapers' Guild. In 1815 the museum was named the Rijks Museum (state museum) and housed (1817–85) in the Trippenhuis. The present building, designed by P. J. H. Cuypers, was opened in 1885 to accommodate the fast-growing collection. The Nederlands Museum, containing the collection of sculpture, decorative arts, and historical objects, was housed in the same building and opened two years later. The Rijks Museum is famous for its outstanding collection of Dutch paintings and drawings, particularly of the 17th cent. Rembrandt, Frans Hals, Vermeer, Ruisdael, Jan Steen, the Dutch primitives, and many others are well represented. Most paintings done after 1850 have been transferred on loan to the Municipal Museum of Amsterdam.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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