Amsterdam Art and Culture Museums
From Van Gogh, Rembrandt, and Anne Frank to Sex, Drugs and Religion
Jan 7, 2009
From towering edifices with gilt-framed masterpieces to tiny houseboat exhibit spaces, Amsterdam’s dozens of museums capture and present a global cross section of arts/cultures, and Dutch history and culture in a range of museums that fit seemingly every interest and budget. The sheer number of museums in Amsterdam guarantees not just a wide selection of permanent exhibits and collections, but an ever-changing patchwork of gallery spaces and rotating exhibits.
Just across the Singelgracht, south and west of Amsterdam’s central core, sits a massive grass square known as the Museumplein. Museum Square offers both locals and visitors the opportunity to relax outdoors in good weather and, appropriately enough, fronts two of the city’s premiere art museums.
The Van Gogh Museum
This incredibly well organized museum showcases an extensive catalogue of the artist’s work that also goes into great detail about his life and influences. Visitors can expect to come away with information on Van Gogh’s friends, enemies, family ties, cultural, religious and work influences.
Amsterdam’s “Must See” Art Museum
The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam is the city’s premier art museum. The museum’s signature piece, Rembrandt’s Night Watch, presides over a staggering collection of Dutch masterworks from the Golden Age and other jaw-dropping surprises. While the museum was undergoing a massive renovation at the time of this writing, the collection on display is staggering in scope and quality, and the refreshed and renewed museum will itself doubtless be a masterpiece.
The Anne Frank House and Museum
The World War II refuge of Anne Frank is a must see memorial to the indomitable human spirit. The upper floors of the Ann Frank Museum are the actual quarters where one young girl, her family, a few coworkers and friends hid from the Nazis. Even today, some sixty years on, this building and what it stands for are, for many, as holy and sacred as any church or temple. The power of this place is palpable.
The Dutch Resistance Museum
With both permanent and rotating exhibits, the Dutch Resistance Museum presents a view of the Netherlands before, during, and after the Nazi occupation from 1940 to 1945. The daily struggles of the everyman are honored alongside the efforts of the organized resistance.
Woonboot (Houseboat) Museum
This tiny museum, tucked into one of Amsterdam’s ubiquitous houseboats, offers its patrons a glimpse into life aboard a floating canal home. From the topside garden to the neatly appointed living room and dollhouse-like kitchen and bedroom down below, all facets of this unique style of living are explained. Various brochures, videos and exhibits discuss the evolution of houseboat design and the wide variety of styles and modern conveniences available.
Other Notable Amsterdam Museums:
- Amsterdam Sex Museum
- Hash Marijuana Hemp Museum
- Nieuwe Kerk – 15th Century Cathedral that is now a combination historic religious landmark and art museum
- Foam Photography Museum – dedicated to modern photography. Numerous rotating exhibits showcase the works of masters and the yet-to-be-famous.
- Museum Van Loon– offers an in-depth look at the history of Amsterdam
Regardless of their interests, travelers in Amsterdam will find no shortage of museums to slake their thirst for information and eye candy. The city is a veritable warren of gallery spaces, rotating exhibits, and a who’s who of old masters and the modern upstarts.
