Music!

Music! highlights the full range of traditional roles for music in Europe. Including up to 60 works from three different centuries!

Sixteenth century

The 16th-century print gallery is devoted to the ceremonial use of music. Music was an essential ingredient for parades, coronations, weddings and other important events, where it evoked the required sense of grandeur and splendour. In these contexts, music communicated authority, wealth and religious devotion.

Seventeenth century

The print gallery for the late-17th century reveals music’s importance as a form of recreation, with music being used to celebrate the gathering of social groups of all sizes. The display also shows how music in the 17th century served as a powerful means of communication, bridging gaps and fostering connections among people from all walks of life.

Eighteenth century

The 18th-century print gallery sheds light on the outstanding French artist Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721). His enchanting outdoor genre scenes, known as fête galante, portray elegantly dressed individuals engaged in music and other forms of entertainment, all around the central theme of love.

ACCOMPANYING MUSIC IN THE GALLERIES

The music performed in the exhibition galleries is composed by Emmanuel Adriaenssen (1540/55 – 1604), Constantijn Huygens (1596 – 1687), Nicolaus à Kempis (c. 1600 – 1676), Johannes Schenck (1660 – 1712), Adrian Valerius (1570/75 – 1625), Nicolas Vallet (c. 1583 – 1642), and others.

Thanks

The appointment of Giovanni Paolo Di Stefano, curator of musical instruments at the Rijksmuseum, is made possible by the Stichting Kramer-Lems/Rijksmuseum Fonds.

Print gallery
1 June t/m 17 November

OPENING HOURS

Daily 9 tot 17h.

ADDRESS

Museumstraat 1
1071 XX Amsterdam

ACCESSIBILITY

Wheelchair access
Guide dogs allowed
Lifts on every floor

FAQ

Free cloak room
Photography allowed
Free WiFi

Pochette, Pieter Rombouts (possibly), c. 1690 - c. 1710

1 | 6

Archlute (liuto attiorbato), Matteo Sellas, 1637

1 | 6

Street Singer, Jan van de Velde (II), 1603 - 1652

1 | 6

Singing Fiddler, Jan Havicksz. Steen, 1636 - 1679

1 | 6

Procession of the Doge of Venice, anonymous, c. 1555 - c. 1560

1 | 6

Trombone, Pierre Colbert, 1593

1 | 6

Sixteenth century

Seventeenth century

Eighteenth century

ACCOMPANYING MUSIC IN THE GALLERIES

Thanks

OPENING HOURS

ADDRESS

ACCESSIBILITY

FAQ

Print gallery

What's on

Practical info