Advance notice: Artus Quellinus – Sculptor of Amsterdam

Publication date: 17 March 2025 - 14:22

As part of the celebrations of Amsterdam 750, the Royal Palace Amsterdam and the Rijksmuseum put one of the city's best-kept art secrets into the spotlights: the work of leading seventeenth-century sculptor Artus Quellinus. This first retrospective of Quellinus unites more than 100 top-class pieces from national and international collections, including sculptures that have never been shown in The Netherlands before in his major masterpiece: the Royal Palace in Amsterdam. Artus Quellinus, originally from Flanders, is known as the most important Baroque sculptor of Amsterdam and far beyond. He decorated the then Amsterdam Town Hall with hundreds of expressive marble and bronze statues. Partly because of this, the building acquired an un-Dutch grandeur and became known as the Eighth Wonder of the World. The exhibition Artus Quellinus – Sculptor of Amsterdam runs from 18 June to 27 October 2025 in the Royal Palace at the Dam.

Thanks to extensive research done by the Rijksmuseum, Artus Quellinus's works – in particular his magnum opus in the Royal Palace – gain significance. This deepens our knowledge, enhances our appreciation, and allows us to view his work with fresh eyes. Based on this, we have composed this exhibition with great pleasure – a wonderful interaction of expertise and creativity.

Claudia Hörster, director Royal Collections

There is nothing more beautiful than seeing Quellinus’s works displayed in his masterpiece, the Royal Palace Amsterdam. A special thank you to King Willem Alexander for providing the best possible stage for Quellinus.

Taco Dibbits, general director Rijksmuseum

Sculptor of Amsterdam

Artus Quellinus (1609 – 1668) was one of the most influential sculptors of the seventeenth century. After he returned from Rome, the Amsterdam city council commissioned Antwerp-born Quellinus to adorn the new Amsterdam Town Hall, which is now the Royal Palace. He created iconic statues such as the famous Atlas, sophisticated sculptures in the richly decorated Burgerzaal and the narrative reliefs in what can be described as The Night Watch of sculpture: the Tribunal. At the time, he proudly bore the honorary title Sculptor of Amsterdam. Quellinus’s majestic works show his extraordinary talent in capturing movement and emotion in materials such as marble. He knew how to express the softness of the human skin or the folds of fabrics. The master of living marble gave a tremendous boost to sculpture in the Netherlands and far beyond with his work in the Amsterdam Town Hall.

Top-class works that hardly ever or never travel

The exhibition presents a large selection of exceptional artworks from national and international, church and private collections. Small, intimate sculptures of materials such as ivory, wood and terracotta are shown next to impressively large marble figures. They range from early works in the dynamic, expressive style of Rubens to monumental projects for churches and sovereigns. Examples are the Saint Peter from the Antwerp Saint Andrew’s Church and the Pallas Athena from Museum Kurhaus Kleve that for once even leave their permanent locations. The Rijksmuseum provides no less than sixty objects and sculptures to show Quellinus’s body of works in its incredible versatility.

Collaboration between Royal Palace Amsterdam and Rijksmuseum

Both the Royal Palace Amsterdam and the Rijksmuseum had a strong desire to curate an overview of Artus Quellinus for years. It is the perfect collaboration in which the Royal Palace has Artus Quellinus's magnum opus and the Rijksmuseum provide the largest collection of artworks, terracotta models and many sketches that Quellinus created as preliminary studies or samples for his works in the town hall. Topical art historical and technical material research into Quellinus’s life, work and studio practices carried out by the Rijksmuseum form the scientific base of the exhibition curated by the Royal Palace Amsterdam and the publication issued by the Rijksmuseum.

Book accompanying the exhibition

A richly illustrated publication focusing on Quellinus’s life, works and studio practices will be issued with the exhibition. The book will be compiled by the curator of the exhibition and sculpture researcher of the Rijksmuseum, Bieke van der Mark and will be designed by Irma Boom. It will be published in Dutch and English.

Artus Quellinus. Beeldhouwer van Amsterdam. ISBN: 978-94-6208-911-2
Artus Quellinus. Sculptor of Amsterdam. ISBN: 978-94-6208-912-9

Countdown to the opening

The exhibition Artus Quellinus – Sculptor of Amsterdam opens for the public on 18 June 2025 at the Royal Palace Amsterdam. As the opening approaches, more details will be made available about the expected masterpieces, special events, tours and family activities. Art lovers may already start preparing for a meeting with one of the greatest sculptors of the seventeenth century.

More information (in Dutch) and images

This exhibition is made possible with the help of the Mondrian Fund, Don Quixote Foundation, Zabawas, the Netherlands Cultural Fund and the Bert en Joos Mastenbroek Fonds/Rijksmuseum Fonds.

The publication will be made possible with the help of the Stichting Pruikenburg Fonds, the Charema Fonds for History and Art through the Netherlands Cultural Fund and the Bert en Joos Mastenbroek Fonds through the Rijksmuseum Fonds.