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Clock and gunpowder horn
anonymous, c. 1590 - c. 1596, clockwork, NG-NM-7687
In 1596, Willem Barentsz, Jacob van Heemskerck and fifteen others spent the winter in an improvised shelter on the island of Nova Zembla off the north coast of Russia. Confined to their hut in the middle of the Polar winter, the men had no sense of night or day. A clock on the wall told the time,…
On display in room 2.9
Desk
Abraham Roentgen, c. 1758 - c. 1760, BK-16676
This desk has numerous secret compartments and drawers and even includes a fold-out prie-dieu. It was made for Johann Philipp von Walderdorff, archbishop and elector of Trier, and is decorated at the top with his portrait and heraldic arms. The desk is the most expensive showpiece ever made by…
On display in room 1.9
Portrait of Andries de Graeff
Artus Quellinus (I), 1661, bust, BK-18305
The De Graeffs were one of the leading merchant families of Amsterdam and highly influential. Like his father and brother, Andries was also a burgomaster. The superb bust was carved by Quellinus, who had been brought from Antwerp to Amsterdam to create sculptures for the new town hall. The plinth…
On display in room 2.18
Portrait of Michiel de Ruyter
Rombout Verhulst, in or after 1677 - in or before 1681, sculpture, BK-NM-13150
Admiral De Ruyter was severely wounded in a battle against the French in the Mediterranean Sea in 1676. He died of his wounds and was buried in a place of honour in Amsterdam’s New Church. This bust was a model for the tomb.
On display in room 2.15
A Mother Delousing her Child’s…
Pieter de Hooch, c. 1660 - c. 1661, painting, SK-C-149
A mother is inspecting her child’s hair for lice. They are in a sober Dutch interior, with Delft blue tiles and a bedstead. The chair on the right is a children’s toilet, with a built-in chamber pot. Through the door we see the back room, and catch a glimpse of the garden. These views into the…
Still Life with Cheese
Floris Claesz van Dijck, c. 1615, painting, SK-A-4821
Food is arranged here on a costly damask tablecloth: fruit, bread, cheese. In the 17th century, this kind of painting was known as a ‘breakfast’. Vivid colours contrast with each other. Each item is carefully placed. And by viewing the table from a high angle, Van Dijck ensured that no object was…
On display in Gallery of Honour
Portrait of a Couple, Probably…
Frans Hals, c. 1622, painting, SK-A-133
The fabulously wealthy Haarlem merchant and his wife commissioned their friend Frans Hals to paint their portrait in an unusual way. Seventeenth-century couples rarely appear together in a single painting, especially in such a nonchalant pose. Hals included all kinds of symbols of love in the…
Self-portrait
Vincent van Gogh, 1887, painting, SK-A-3262
After he heard his brother Theo describe the new colourful style of French art, Vincent decided in 1886 to move to Paris. He soon began experimenting with the new idiom in a series of self portraits. This was mainly to spare the expense of using models. Here he painted himself as a debonnaire…
On display in room 1.18
The Sick Child
Gabriël Metsu, c. 1664 - c. 1666, painting, SK-A-3059
A worried mother looks at her young daughter, slumped listlessly on her lap. Metsu chose an unusual subject, since depictions of poorly children are rare in 17th-century art. Perhaps he intended the mother to personify charity, Caritas. Then the picture of the Crucifixion on the wall would be a…
The Art Gallery of Jan…
Adriaan de Lelie, 1794 - 1795, painting, SK-A-4100
In 1792, Gildemeester, a merchant, turned two large rooms at his house on Amsterdam’s Herengracht into an art gallery. Here he stands proudly at the centre of the front room, speaking with one of his guests. Visitors are examining famous paintings, including a Rembrandt - above Gildemeester’s head.…
On display in room 1.10