Celebrating Dutch Golden Age art

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, was born in Leiden during 1606, and recorded some of the most vibrant decades of what is now termed the Dutch Golden Age. He created his first works in the city of his birth — the location of the oldest university in the Netherlands — then moved to Amsterdam. He lived and worked in the capital of a flourishing maritime empire. The Rijksmuseum, which conveys the history of the Netherlands and displays artworks from the Dutch Golden Age and beyond, is also located in Amsterdam. The grand building was designed by Pierre Cuypers, who was also the architect of the Dutch capital’s central railway station. Bas relief figures adorn the façade of the Rijksmuseum, whose Gallery of Honour was built to give pride of place to Rembrandt’s The Night Watch.