Rijksmuseum set for grand reopening in Amsterdam

 

It has taken a decade to restore the state museum in Amsterdam

When Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands officially re-opens the Rijksmuseum next week, it will mark the end of a painful restoration project.

The work ran five years over schedule and millions of euros over budget.
The Dutch state museum has been closed since 2003. Renovation was delayed by flooding, asbestos and a dispute over access for cyclists.
"It was kind of Murphy's Law," says museum director Wim Pijbes. "What could go wrong, did go wrong."
Pijbes added: "It has been closed for 10 years, but now it can go on for decades."
On Wednesday, Johannes Vermeer's The Milkmaid was re-hung, making it the last major work to return to the museum in the heart of Amsterdam.

Johannes Vermeer's The Milkmaid is the last major work to return to the museum

It sits in the Gallery of Honour, a breathtaking cathedral to the Dutch Golden Age, showcasing works by Rembrandt, Jan Steen and Franz Hals.
The old masters draw the eye, but so do the intricately decorated ceilings and pillars that frame them - all painstakingly recreated after being painted over in the post-war years.
In the halls flanking the grand gallery, the decoration is more modern. British artist Richard Wright, a former Turner Prize winner, has dusted the ceilings with almost 50,000 stars, hand-painted in a swirling, shifting constellation.
It all serves to set up the Rijksmuseum's biggest star - Rembrandt's Night Watch.