REMBRANDTHUIS - HOUSE OF REMBRANDT

Rembrandt lived in this charming house between 1639 and 1658, probably the most artistically rich years of his life. Having arrived in Amsterdam nine years earlier, Rembrandt was already earning a good living when, at the age of 33, he decided to buy this house in the heart of the Jewish quarter for the then considerable sum of 13,000 florins. The atmosphere of the streets, strongly imbued with religion, evoked the Bible and inspired him. Neighbors such as Mennasseh Ben Israel, Amsterdam's rabbi, and Ephraim Bueno, a physician, soon became among his best acquaintances. His son Titus was born here in 1641, and his wife Saskia Uylenburgh died a year later. In 1656, Rembrandt, ruined and forced to pay off his many debts, sold his possessions and then his house, moving to the Jordaan district. The house, built in 1606, was raised by an additional floor in 1633 and topped by a superb triangular pediment. It contains 250 engravings, almost all of his engraved work, plus four copper plates, divided between the various rooms and arranged according to genre: biblical scenes, self-portraits (most of them done in Leyden), views of Amsterdam and the surrounding area, pocket portraits and nudes after models. There are also paintings by Rembrandt's contemporaries and pupils, as well as by Pieter Lastman, for whom Rembrandt had the greatest respect. There is also a daily demonstration of his painting techniques.

On the first floor, to the left, in the so-called Sijdelcaemer room (formerly the dining room and reception room) are several drawings and etchings, including The Three Crosses and Christ Showed to the Crowd. On the same level, at the far end, the Agtercaemer (a living room that also served as a bedroom) features a number of portraits, including some of Rembrandt and his wife.

The second floor comprises two studios (the Groote en Cleijne Schildercaemer) and a small room (Kunst Caemer) dedicated to the painter's collections (paintings, drawings, prints, Japanese weapons, ceramics...) and his work, as well as to the works of his many pupils. It was in these studios that Rembrandt's finest canvases, such as La Ronde de nuit, were created.

This recently renovated and enlarged museum will shed unique light on the man behind the artist.