Rijksmuseum

Another rainy day in Amsterdam. Having planned to spend time exploring the Rijksmuseum, I didn't regret the weather.

I did regret not bringing my proper camera. I expected that photographs would be prohibited; I was wrong.

I started with the Gallery of Honor, taking advantage of the laminated cards that offered an in-depth examination of a selected work in each alcove. These were always available in English as well as Dutch; for the most famous work—the Night Watch—cards were provided in many additional languages.

The first painting that caught my eye was Still Life with a Gilt Cup by Willem Claesz. How did he paint a cloth so realistically that I can tell it was silk? A close look at the light reflected off the surface of the pewter vessel and glass goblet reveals the outline of the window panes though which daylight streamed.

Many paintings captured ordinary scenes from daily life, like Woman with a Child in a Pantry by Pieter de Hooch. How does the painter decide which details to include? The decorative tiles at the base of a wall, pieces of straw and chipped floor tiles. Was it to portray life unvarnished rather than idealized?

I was similarly fascinated by another still life, Festoon of Fruit and Flowers by Jan Davidsz. de Heem. This one was unusual for his additional hint of the natural world—he tucked insects (and a snail) among the fruits and flowers.

And then there was The Threatened Swan by Jan Asselijn, dramatic enough without its political overtones. The dog's head and the nest itself are in the shadows, but the artist included details that are easily overlooked: drops of water on the bird's left foot, shed feathers flying.

There was so much to learn. About pigments that lose their color by the very nature of their chemical composition, dulling our impression of some works. About paintings created for particular spaces: a set of two lit from opposite directions because they would be hung on either side of a window. Rembrandt's Night Watch had been trimmed when it was moved to smaller space, and the cut-off pieces of the canvas unceremoniously discarded.

Schoolchildren sat attentively in circles on the floor, perhaps visiting as part of an ongoing effort to have all children in the Netherlands see the Night Watch before the age of 12.

There was so much to see: paintings, decorative arts, even some specimen animals native to Brazil (preserved through taxidermy). Four hours and the better part of two floors later, I called it a day.

The rest? Someday, perhaps.