Johannes Vermeer | The Milkmaid / La Lattaia, 1657-1658

The Milkmai was painted by Johannes Vermeer in about 1657-58.

The small picture (18 x 16 1/8 in., or 45.5 x 41 cm) could be described as one of the last works of the Delft artist’s formative years (ca. 1654-58), during which he adopted various subjects and styles from other painters and at the same time introduced effects based on direct observation and an exceptionally refined artistic sensibility.

Influenced by the detailed realism of Gerrit Dou (1613-1675) and his followers in Leiden, Vermeer created his most illusionistic image in The Milkmaid (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, SK-A-2344).

Rembrandt | The Night Watch, 1642

Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq, also known as The Shooting Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch, but commonly referred to as The Night Watch (Dutch: De Nachtwacht), is a 1642 painting by Rembrandt van Rijn.

It is in the collection of the Amsterdam Museum but is prominently displayed in the Rijksmuseum as the best-known painting in its collection.

The Night Wahtc is one of the most famous Dutch Golden Age paintings.

Rembrandt's large painting (363x437 cm (12 by 14+1⁄2 feet)) is famed for transforming a group portrait of a civic guard company into a compelling drama energized by light and shadow (tenebrism).

The title is a misnomer; the painting does not depict a nocturnal scene.

Van Gogh, Rembrandt and the Rijksmuseum

Vincent van Gogh travelled to Amsterdam in 1885 to visit the Rijksmuseum, which had recently opened.

On the day of his visit he painted his "View of Amsterdam from Central Station".

The paint still wet, he took the new work with him to the Rijksmuseum.

Vincent van Gogh | Wheat field, 1888 | Rijksmuseum

Charles van Beveren | Romantic painter

Charles Van Beveren (1809-1850) was considered by his contemporaries to be one of the most important colorists of his time.

Charles van Beveren, was a portrait, history and genre painter of the Romantic period, who spent much of his life in Amsterdam.

He was born at Mechlin in 1809, and studied art at the academy of his native city and at Antwerp.

He settled in Amsterdam in 1830, subsequently visiting Paris, Rome, and other cities of Italy, and distinguished himself as a painter of history, genre and portraits.

Jacob Maris | The Hague School

Jacob Hendricus Maris (1837-1899) was a Dutch painter, who with his brothers Willem and Matthijs belonged to what has come to be known as the Hague School of painters.

He was considered to be the most important and influential Dutch landscape painter of the last quarter of the nineteenth century.

His first teacher was painter J.A.B. Stroebel who taught him the art of painting from 1849 to 1852.

Frans Stracké | The Two Mothers, 1893 | Rijksmuseum

Franz Stracké created this sculpture in terracotta in 1893. The title "Two Mothers" refers to the woman and the dog, positioned at her feet looking upwards, whose puppies she is carrying. This work by Franz Stracké is exhibited at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

This sweet scene reflects increasing interest in the lives of fishermen. The statue shows a young woman holding her child, with her dog’s puppies gathered in her apron. Yet life is not a bed of roses for this barefoot fisherman’s wife. She has only two fish in her pouch, and the net that she drags behind her is empty. | Rijksmuseum

Frans Stracké | The Two Mothers, 1893 (detail) | Rijksmuseum

Gerrit Dou | L'eremita, 1664

Figlio di un incisore del vetro, Gerrit Dou (1613-1675) iniziò imparando ad incidere e dipingere il vetro.

Nel 1628 fu apprendista di Rembrandt.

Qui Dou apprese l'arte del chiaroscuro, il contrasto di luce e ombra che divenne la sua specialità: le sue scene a lume di candela divennero di gran moda.

Rembrandt | Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, 1630

Downcast, the biblical prophet Jeremiah leans his tired head on his hand. He mourns the burning city of Jerusalem (left background), the destruction of which he had predicted.

The most important part of the depiction - the figure of Jeremiah - is painted with great precision, while his surroundings are barely worked out.

Rembrandt used powerful contrasts of light and shadow to heighten the drama of the scene. | © Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam