Rijksmuseum Digitizes 840,000 Artworks, Including Rembrandt and Vermeer

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has expanded its online collection to 840,000 high-resolution digitized images, available for free download, sharing, and editing with a free account. The digitization includes works by Rembrandt and Vermeer, among others. The museum's initiative was highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to bring art to people in isolation. Rembrandt's portrait of his son Titus, painted in 1660, is noted; Titus died of plague eight years later, and his stepmother Hendrickje Stoffels also succumbed to the disease. These losses contributed to the anguish in Rembrandt's late self-portraits, as noted by The Guardian's Jonathan Jones. Rembrandt's etching 'The Rat-Poison Peddler' is interpreted by Tom Rassieur of the Minneapolis Institute of Art as a critique of those who claim to help but spread disease, relating to modern leadership criticism. Vermeer, a contemporary, also experienced plague in Delft, with over 2,000 deaths in 1635-36 and more in the 1650s and 1660s, influencing his themes of solitude. Friso Lammertse, curator at the Rijksmuseum, remarked that Vermeer's work shows extreme beauty can be found in one's room during isolation. The museum also offers informative series on its website. An earlier version of this post appeared in 2021.