New Rijksmuseum opens to the public in April 2013 following a ten year transformation

• Masterpieces from Rembrandt to Rietveld will be seen in a new light as one of the world’s greatest art collections is revealed in a striking sequence of 80 galleries
• Over 8,000 works of art will go on view telling the story of Dutch art and history from 1200 to 2000

After ten years of rebuilding, renovation and restoration, the new Rijksmuseum will open on 13 April 2013. Never before has a national museum undergone such a complete modernisation.

Spanish architecture firm Cruz y Ortiz arquitectos has turned the 19th-century building into a museum for the 21st century, bright and spacious, with an impressive new entrance, state-of-the-art facilities, restored galleries and a new Asian Pavilion. Parisian museum designer Jean-Michel Wilmotte has created the furnishing for the galleries, fusing 19th-century grandeur with modern design.

The presentation of the Rijksmuseum’s world famous collection is also new. For the very first time, visitors can follow a chronological sequence of 80 galleries featuring 8,000 works of art and objects that tell the story of 800 years of Dutch history from the Middle Ages to the present day. Only the world famous Night Watch will be returning to its original position. The Rijksmuseum is the only major national museum in the world that will be open to the public 365 days a year.

Rembrandt van Rijn, The Night Watch, 1642. Oil on Canvas, 379.5cm x 453.5cm. Image courtesy of Rijksmuseum

New Presentation
The new presentation of the Rijksmuseum Collection is a journey through Dutch art and history from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance to the 21th century. The fascinating story of the Netherlands is set in an international context and told in a chronological sequence across four separate floors. Paintings, prints, drawings, photographs, silver, porcelain, delftware, furniture, jewellery, costumes, and objects from Dutch history and unique period rooms will be presented together for the very first time.

More than 30 galleries are dedicated to the glory of the Golden Age, when the young mercantile republic led the world in trade, science, military exploits and the arts. At the heart of this will be the magnificently restored Gallery of Honour, presenting world-famous works of art by Frans Hals, Jan Steen, Johannes Vermeer and Rembrandt van Rijn.

The Rijksmuseum will also present a new group of galleries focused on the 20th century. Paintings, furniture, photography, posters, film and an aeroplane will paint a picture of Dutch culture of the past century. Also on view for the first time are the Special Collections, where visitors can enjoy famous and unexpected objects from the applied arts, science and national history, including a gallery with a number of model ships and an armoury.

Grand Hall, 2012. Photo credit: Jannes Linders. Image courtesy of Rijksmuseum

New in the Rijksmuseum
The main sponsors of the Rijksmuseum include Philips, ING, the BankGiro Loterij and KPN, which have contributed to the furnishing of the new Rijksmuseum. With their support, and that of other companies, funds and private individuals, hundreds of new objects from every field of collection and every era have been acquired over the last ten years. The new presentation of the collection showcases 123 of the newly acquired objects and works of art.

Among the highlights are:
• Dutch artist Caesar van Everdingen’s oil painting ‘Augusta’ (1645-1650)
• ‘The Square Man’ (1951) by one of the founders of the 20th century Cobra art movement, Karel Appel
• An extremely rare white chair by the Dutch designer and architect Gerrit Rietveld (1923)
• The legendary ‘Mondrian’ dress (1965/66) by French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, based on the work of the Dutch artist
• Two metre-high wood sculptures of celestial warriors from Japan, temple guardians from the 14th century.

Rijksmuseum Passageway, 2012. Photo credit: Pedro Pegenaute.
Image courtesy of Rijksmuseum

A transformed building
The Rijksmuseum’s main building has been spectacularly renewed. Spanish architects, Cruz y Ortiz arquitectos of Seville, have recreated the clear layout conceived by the museum’s original architect, Pierre Cuypers. They have transformed the 19th century building into a bright and spacious 21st century museum. Cruz y Ortiz have created an impressive new entrance area suitable for the needs of a leading international museum, and they have also restored the high, spacious, late 19th century galleries to their former glory.  In various places, the original, richly decorated walls and ceilings have been revealed. The architects have also added a completely new structure, the Asian Pavilion. The French interior architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, whose work in the Louvre has earned him international acclaim, has selected an interior colour scheme inspired by Pierre Cuypers’ palette for the building, and has designed and chosen furnishings for the gallery including the display cases, plinths, lighting and furniture.

New Asian Pavilion
Surrounded by water, the glass and Portuguese stone façade of the Asian Pavilion is characterised by many sloping walls and unusual sightlines. The museum’s rich collection of Asian art is presented here in an original new way. It features objects from China and Japan, Indonesia and India, Vietnam and Thailand, dating from 2000 BC to 2000 AD. A total of 365 objects will be on display.

New “outdoor museum”
The Rijksmuseum has also added a large public space to the circuit, in the form of a 14,500 square metre historic garden. Based on a 1901 design by Pierre Cuypers, the museum’s architect, the garden’s new layout was created by the Dutch landscape architecture firm Copijn. The garden features several of the original formal garden styles, as well as restored statues and fragments of ancient buildings. A fountain, pond, greenhouse, and children’s garden will soon be added to this “outdoor museum”. A Henry Moore exhibition will open in the garden on 21 June 2013, the first in an annual series of international sculpture exhibitions to be held each summer.