Rembrandt van Rijn lived in Amsterdam for almost forty years, and dozens of places across the city still show it: from the house where he went bankrupt to the church where he lies buried.
His life in this city
Rembrandt arrived as a young painter and went through a remarkably steep rise and an equally hard fall.
From Leiden:born in 1606 as a miller's son in Leiden, he moved to Amsterdam in 1631, where the money and the commissions were.
Immediate success: as early as 1632 The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp gave him his breakthrough. Within a few years he was the highest-paid portrait painter in the city.
A wealthy marriage: in 1634 he married Saskia van Uylenburgh, niece of his art dealer. She died in 1642, the same year he completed The Night Watch.
Bankrupt in 1656:Rembrandt lived far beyond his means, buying art and curiosities he could not pay for. His house and collection were auctioned off and in 1658 he had to leave.
His finest work came afterwards: it was in the poorer years on the Rozengracht that he painted his most intimate canvases, among them The Jewish Bride and his late self-portraits.
Died in 1669: he died on 4 October, poor and largely forgotten, and was buried in a rented grave in the Westerkerk.
The Rembrandt House
The Rembrandt House on the Jodenbreestraat is the only building in Amsterdam where you literally step into his workplace.
Nineteen years of living and working:Rembrandt bought the house in 1639 at the height of his success, for a sum he was never able to pay off. He lived there until 1658.
Furnished from the inventory: when he went bankrupt in 1656, everything in the house was carefully recorded. That list has allowed the house to be restored to its original state, right down to the shells and weapons in his cabinet of curiosities.
His studio: on the first floor you see the large north-facing studio, with the light he was known for, along with the room where his pupils worked.
Etchings up close:the museum holds virtually his complete body of etchings and shows changing selections from it. There are daily demonstrations of paint making and etching printing.
Allow an hour and a half: the house is small but densely packed. Come early, as the narrow staircases quickly become congested.
The Night Watch at the Rijksmuseum
The most famous painting in the Netherlands hangs in the Gallery of Honour at the Rijksmuseum, in exactly the spot the building was designed for.
Its real title: the canvas is properly called The Company of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq. The name Night Watch only arose centuries later, when the varnish had darkened so much that people assumed it was a night scene. It actually takes place in daylight.
Once larger: in 1715 the painting was trimmed on all sides to fit the town hall. Two figures disappeared from the left. Those missing strips have since been digitally reconstructed.
Operation Night Watch:since 2019 the largest research and restoration project ever undertaken on this painting has been running. Conservators are removing the old varnish inside a glass chamber, in full view of the public. The work will continue for several more years.
What that means for your visit: the painting is on show as normal, but seen through glass with conservators in front of it. For some visitors that is a bonus in itself, as you rarely get to watch such work.
More Rembrandt in the building:The Jewish Bride, The Syndics and Self-portrait as the Apostle Paul hang here too.
The Oude Kerk and Saskia's grave
The oldest building in Amsterdam holds the woman who appears in dozens of his paintings and etchings.
Saskia van Uylenburgh: she died in 1642 at the age of thirty, shortly after the birth of their son Titus. Of the four children they had, only he survived infancy.
His model and his muse:Rembrandt drew and painted her constantly, from formal portraits to a sketch he made three days after their engagement.
Her grave:Saskia lies in the Oude Kerk, in grave number 29K. Rembrandt later sold the grave when he needed money.
His last home
After the bankruptcy Rembrandt moved to a rented house in a working-class district, where he spent his final eleven years.
The fall: he was declared insolvent in 1656. His house, his art collection and his own work were auctioned off, raising nowhere near enough to cover his debts.
To the Jordaan: in 1658 he took a rented house at Rozengracht 184, then still a canal, in the Jordaan. The building is gone; a stone on the façade of the present one recalls him.
Hendrickje and Titus: his partner Hendrickje Stoffels and son Titus set up an art dealership that formally employed Rembrandt, so that creditors could not reach his earnings.
His strongest work: it was here that he painted The Jewish Bride, The Syndics and the late self-portraits in which he depicted himself mercilessly old.
Neither outlived him:Hendrickje died in 1663 and Titus in 1668. Rembrandt followed a year later.
The Westerkerk: his final resting place
On 8 October 1669 Rembrandt was buried in the Westerkerk, in a rented grave he did not pay for himself.
A pauper's grave: he was interred in a rented grave, the cheapest option available. Such graves were cleared after twenty years, which is why his remains have been lost.
Exactly where is unknown: the precise spot has never been established with certainty. Research points to a position in the north aisle, beside his son.
Titus lies there too: his son Titus was buried in the same church a year earlier, in grave 143 in the centre.
The memorial plaque:a plaque in the church commemorates him, at the spot where his grave is thought to have been.
Rembrandt route through Amsterdam
Nine places that each have a demonstrable connection to his life, from his first studio to his grave.
Sint Antoniesbreestraat 4; 1631 to 1635
The house of art dealer Hendrick van Uylenburgh, where Rembrandt moved in on arriving from Leiden. Here he had his first studio and met Uylenburgh's niece Saskia, whom he married in 1634.
Rembrandt House; 1639 to 1658 The house he bought at the height of his success and that eventually ruined him. Fully furnished according to the inventory drawn up at his bankruptcy.
De Waag; 1632 The anatomical theatre upstairs in this medieval building on the Nieuwmarkt was where the public dissections took place that Rembrandt recorded in The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp, the painting that made his name.
Oude Kerk; 1642 Saskia van Uylenburgh lies buried here, in grave number 29K. She died aged thirty, in the year Rembrandt completed The Night Watch.
Kloveniersdoelen; 1642 to 1715
This spot at the end of the Kloveniersburgwal was where the militia hall stood for which The Night Watch was painted, and where it hung for over seventy years. The canvas was considerably larger then than it is now.
Rembrandtplein; 1852
The cast-iron statue of Rembrandt on Rembrandtplein is the oldest statue in Amsterdam. The square was previously called the Botermarkt, or butter market.
Rozengracht 184; 1658 to 1669
The rented house in the Jordaan where he lived after his bankruptcy and where his late masterpieces were made. The original building has gone.
Westerkerk; 1669 The church where Rembrandt was buried in a rented grave on 8 October 1669, and where a plaque commemorates him.
Rijksmuseum Finish where his work hangs today: The Night Watch in the Gallery of Honour at the Rijksmuseum, alongside The Jewish Bride and The Syndics.
About this route
The route follows his life from his arrival in 1631 to his grave, ending at the museum where his work hangs today.
Distance and duration: around 7 kilometres. Walkable in two hours without stops, or a little under half an hour by bike.
Take a bike: between the Jordaan and the Museumplein lies a long stretch with no stops. A hire bike makes for a more pleasant trip.
An optional detour:between the Oude Kerk and Rembrandtplein you pass Dam Square, where Rembrandt stands as a wax figure behind his easel at Madame Tussauds, in the Golden Age section. The one place in the city where you meet him in the flesh.
Book in advance: both the Rembrandt House and the Rijksmuseum require a ticket, preferably online. Fit the route around your timed slots and allow an hour and a half per museum.
Make a day of it: the two museums alone account for three hours. If you want to do the route in one go, start early in the morning.
Or split it: stops A to F lie close together in the old centre and make a fine morning walk. The Jordaan and the Museumplein can wait for another day.
