Rembrandt van Rijn, Portrait of a Man in a Red Coat (detail), 1633, oil on oval panel, 63.7 x 50.8 cm, The Leiden Collection, New York.

AMSTERDAM - To celebrate Amsterdam’s 750th anniversary, H’ART Museum today opened From Rembrandt to Vermeer — Masterpieces from The Leiden Collection, a landmark exhibition of seventy-five paintings from one of the world’s most important and largest private collections of seventeenth-century Dutch art. The exhibition is on view through August 24, 2025.

The exhibition focuses on the daily life and character of Dutch citizens in seventeenth-century Amsterdam as well as other urban centers in The Netherlands. Organized thematically, From Rembrandt to Vermeer draws from The Leiden Collection’s unique strength, namely the depiction of humanity in all its facets. The show comprises both formal portraits of wealthy sitters and character studies depicting a range of social classes — including a captivating group of artists’ self-portraits. It also displays engaging paintings that depict the preparing and marketing of foods, men playing cards, youths reading, and women writing letters or playing music. The spiritual aspects of seventeenth-century family life are also represented, as alluded to in scenes of prayer or in the biblical and mythological subjects of paintings that hung in the home.

Appearing throughout the exhibition are The Leiden Collection’s eighteen Rembrandts, on view together for the very first time. Spanning the entirety of the master’s career, these exceptional works as assembled reveal powerful evolutions in Rembrandt’s style, technique, and subject matter. From Rembrandt to Vermeer also presents the sole painting by Johannes Vermeer still in private hands, as well as exquisite works by twenty-five other prominent seventeenth-century Dutch artists, including Gerrit Dou, Jan Lievens, Frans Hals, Jan Steen, Frans van Mieris, and Gerard ter Borch, among others.

Appearing throughout the exhibition are The Leiden Collection’s eighteen Rembrandts, on view together for the very first time. Spanning the entirety of the master’s career, these exceptional works as assembled reveal powerful evolutions in Rembrandt’s style, technique, and subject matter. From Rembrandt to Vermeer also presents the sole painting by Johannes Vermeer still in private hands, as well as exquisite works by twenty-five other prominent seventeenth-century Dutch artists, including Gerrit Dou, Jan Lievens, Frans Hals, Jan Steen, Frans van Mieris, and Gerard ter Borch, among others.

Appearing throughout the exhibition are The Leiden Collection’s eighteen Rembrandts, on view together for the very first time. Spanning the entirety of the master’s career, these exceptional works as assembled reveal powerful evolutions in Rembrandt’s style, technique, and subject matter. From Rembrandt to Vermeer also presents the sole painting by Johannes Vermeer still in private hands, as well as exquisite works by twenty-five other prominent seventeenth-century Dutch artists, including Gerrit Dou, Jan Lievens, Frans Hals, Jan Steen, Frans van Mieris, and Gerard ter Borch, among others.

Dr. Thomas S. Kaplan said: “There is simply nothing more gratifying than sharing The Leiden Collection and its treasures with the world. To bring these masterpieces to this particular city, Amsterdam, where Rembrandt and so many of his contemporaries came into maturity, is especially meaningful. In a very real and most poetic sense, these artworks have returned home. It is an incredible honor to have been a part in making that happen.”

Co-curated by H’ART Museum curator Birgit Boelens and The Leiden Collection curator Elizabeth Nogrady, From Rembrandt to Vermeer enriches the dynamic partnership first established between the two institutions in 2023, with the highly successful show Rembrandt and His Contemporaries. To celebrate this significant milestone for the city of Amsterdam, the collectors have lent extraordinary works to this grand-scale exhibition — presenting audiences with new and complementary themes found within The Leiden Collection’s vast and deep holdings. Visitors are invited to experience the emotional resonance and technical prowess that characterize seventeenth-century paintings, while connecting to the everyday activities and character traits of the era’s Dutch citizens.

Highlights include Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait with Shaded Eyes, 1634, which shows the young painter gazing at the viewer through the shadow cast by his artist’s beret; finely painted panels by Dou that provide a window into the lives of Dutch townspeople, including Herring Seller and Boy, ca. 1644, and Cat Crouching on an Artist’s Atelier, 1657; and Vermeer’s Young Woman Seated at a Virginal, ca. 1670–75, which was delicately conserved in 2024 to expose in even greater detail the artist’s incomparable use of light and color.

Rembrandt van Rijn (Leiden 1606 – 1669 Amsterdam), Self-Portrait with Shaded Eyes, 1634, oil on panel, 71.1 x 56 cm, signed and dated in dark paint, lower right quadrant: “Rembrandt. f. / 1634”, RR-110. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Gerrit Dou (Leiden 1613 – 1675 Leiden), Herring Seller and Boy, ca. 1664, oil on panel, 43.5 x 34.5 cm, signed, lower center, below window: “GDou” (GD in monogram), GD-106 © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Gerrit Dou (Leiden 1613 – 1675 Leiden), Cat Crouching on the Ledge of an Artist’s Atelier, 1657, oil on panel, 34 x 26.9 cm, signed and dated in brown paint along lower edge: “GDou 1657”, GD-108. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Johannes Vermeer (Delft 1632 – 1675 Delft), Young Woman Seated at a Virginal, ca. 1670–75, oil on canvas, 25.5 x 20.1 cm, JVe-100. © The Leiden Collection, New York.
 

Accompanying the exhibiton is a fully illustrated, 150-page, bilingual catalogue entitled Art and Life in Rembrandt’s Time. Edited by Arthur K. Wheelock Jr. and with entries on each painting, it features introductory essays by Wheelock and Kaplan, as well as texts describing rich and varied aspects of seventeenth-century life by a multi-disciplinary group of scholars. Els de Baan explores aspects of women’s dress in the seventeenth-century Dutch Republic; Han Bakker presents an overview of literary culture and the intellectual climate in the Netherlands, particularly Amsterdam; Wouter van Elburg, offers readers a tour of various canal houses built in the seventeenth century; Janny van der Heijden describes food markets in the Netherlands of the 1600s; Weixuan Li investigates the rooms within Dutch homes; and Leonore van Sloten illuminates the role of music in paintings from The Leiden Collection.

Until 4 August 2025r

Artwork in the Exhibition

Amsterdammers Through Rembrandt’s Eye

Rembrandt van Rijn (Leiden 1606 – 1669 Amsterdam), Young Girl in a Gold-Trimmed Cloak, 1632, oil on oval panel, 59 x 44 cm, signed and dated in dark paint along the background, center right: “RHL van Rijn / 1632”, RR-104. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Rembrandt van Rijn (Leiden 1606 – 1669 Amsterdam), Bust of a Bearded Old Man, 1633, oil on paper mounted on panel, 10.6 x 7.3 cm, , signed and dated along top: “Rembrandt 1633”, RR-116. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Rembrandt van Rijn (Leiden 1606 – 1669 Amsterdam), Study of a Woman in a White Cap, ca. 1640, oil on panel, 47.3 x 39 cm, RR-101. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Rembrandt van Rijn and Workshop (Leiden 1606 – 1669 Amsterdam), Man with a Sword, 1644, oil on canvas, 102.23 x 88.9 cm. Signed and dated at lower right: “Rembrandt·f. 1644”., RR-114. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Rembrandt van Rijn (Leiden 1606 – 1669 Amsterdam), Head of a Girl, ca. 1645, oil on panel, 20.8 x 17.4 cm, RR-112. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Rembrandt van Rijn (Leiden 1606 – 1669 Amsterdam), Portrait of an Old Man (Possibly a Rabbi), ca. 1645, oil on panel, 22.2 x 18.4 cm, RR-109. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Rembrandt van Rijn (Leiden 1606 – 1669 Amsterdam), Bust of a Young Bearded Man, ca. 1656–58, oil on panel with arched top, 40.4 x 31.3 cm, signed in dark paint, center right: “Rembrandt f”, RR-117. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Rembrandt portrays Amsterdam's Elite

Rembrandt van Rijn (Leiden 1606 – 1669 Amsterdam), Portrait of a Man in Red Coat, 1633, oil on oval panel, 63.7 x 50.8 cm, signed and dated in light brown paint, lower right: “Rembrandt. fec. / 1633.”, RR-108. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Rembrandt van Rijn (Leiden 1606 – 1669 Amsterdam), Portrait of a Young Woman (“The Middendorf Rembrandt”), 1633, oil on oval panel, 62.4 x 50.4 cm, signed and dated at lower left: “Rembrant f. / 1633”, RR-126. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Rembrandt van Rijn and Workshop (Leiden 1606 – 1669 Amsterdam), Portrait of Antonie Coopal, 1635, oil on Brazilian chestnut (sucupira), 83.5 x 67.6 cm, signed and dated in dark paint, lower right: “Rembrandt. ft (followed by three dots set, RR-103 © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Rembrandt van Rijn (Leiden 1606 – 1669 Amsterdam), Portrait of Petronella Buys (1605–1670), 1635, oil on oval panel, 79.5 x 59.3 cm, signed and dated at lower left: “Rembrandt·f. 1635″, RR-115. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Meet the Artists

Attributed to Gerrit Dou (Leiden 1613 – 1675 Leiden), Self-Portrait (?) at an Easel, ca. 1628–29, oil on panel, 66.6 x 50.9 cm, GD-112 © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Jan Lievens (Leiden 1607 – 1674 Amsterdam), Self-Portrait, ca. 1629–30, oil on panel, 42 x 37 cm, signed with initials in dark paint, upper right corner: “IL”, JL-105. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Isaac de Jouderville (Leiden ca. 1612 – 1645/48 Amsterdam), Portrait of Rembrandt in Oriental Dress, ca. 1631, oil on panel, 70.8 x 50.5 cm, false signature and date in dark paint, upper left corner: “Rembrandt ft. 1641”, IJ-100. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Govaert Flinck (Kleve 1615 – 1660 Amsterdam), Self-Portrait, 1643, oil on panel, 73.1 x 53.5 cm, signed and dated in brown paint along left side of narrow horizontally oriented lower plank: “G.flinck.f.1643”, GF-103. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Ferdinand Bol (Dordrecht 1616 – 1680 Amsterdam), Self-Portrait, Behind a Parapet, 1648, oil on canvas, 85.5 x 71 cm, signed and dated in dark paint, on sheet of paper along lower right: “Bol. fecit 1648”, FB-107. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Frans van Mieris (Leiden 1635 – 1681 Leiden), “Self-Portrait” in Fanciful Dress, ca. 1667, oil on oval panel, 11 x 8.2 cm, FM-123 © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Frans van Mieris (Leiden 1635 – 1681 Leiden), “Self-Portrait” with a Plumed Beret, 1668, oil on oval panel, 11.3 x 8.2 cm, signed and dated in dark paint along background, lower right quadrant: “F van Mieris . 1668”, FM-108. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Fashioning Identities

Frans Hals (Antwerp 1582/83 – 1666 Haarlem), Portrait of Samuel Ampzing, 1630, oil on copper, 16.4 x 12.4 cm, inscribed and dated, center right: “AETAT 40/ ANo 163..”, FH-100. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Frans Hals (Antwerp 1582/83 – 1666 Haarlem), Portrait of Conradus Viëtor, 1644, oil on canvas, 82.6 x 66 cm, signed in monogram and dated in dark paint, upper right: “FH / M CONRADVS VIETOR / ÆTATIS 56 / Ao 1644”, FH-101 © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Gerard ter Borch the Younger (Zwolle 1617 – 1681 Deventer), Elegant Man, ca. 1660, oil on canvas, 46.8 x 36.5 cm, GB-108.a. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Gerard ter Borch the Younger (Zwolle 1617 – 1681 Deventer), Elegant Woman, ca. 1660, oil on canvas, 46.8 x 36.5 cm, GB-108.b. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Gerrit Dou (Leiden 1613 – 1675 Leiden), Portrait of Dirck van Beresteyn, ca. 1652, oil on oval silver-copper alloy, 10.2 x 8.2 cm, signed in blue paint at upper right: “G Dou” (GD in ligature), GD-111. © The Leiden Collection, New York

Caspar Netscher (Prague or Heidelberg ca. 1639 – 1684 The Hague), Portrait of Susanna Doublet Huygens, 1669, oil on panel, 45.4 x 34.7 cm, signed and dated in light paint, lower right corner: “C. Netscher. Ao 1669.”, CN-102. © The Leiden Collection, New York

Frans van Mieris (Leiden 1635 – 1681 Leiden), Portrait of a Thirty-Year-Old Man, 1669, oil on panel with arched top, 23.5 x 16.8 cm, signed and dated in dark paint, center left, left of figure’s upper arm, AE in ligature: “AE T. 30 Fvan Mieris Ao 1669”, FM-110.a. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Frans van Mieris (Leiden 1635 – 1681 Leiden), Portrait of a Twenty-Five-Year-Old Woman, 1669, oil on panel with arched top, 23.5 x 16.8 cm, signed and dated in dark paint, lower right background, right of figure: “Fvan Mieris. 1669”, inscribed above the shoulder: “ÆT. 25”, FM-110.b. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Godefridus Schalcken (Made 1643 – 1706 The Hague), Portrait of Barthout van Slingelandt, 1682, oil on copper, 48.2 x 37.8 cm, signed in dark paint, upper left corner: “G. Schalcken.”, GS-102. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Willem van Mieris (Leiden 1662 – 1747 Leiden), Portrait of an Elegant Man, 1708, oil on oval panel, 19.5 x 15 cm, signed and dated in light paint, left midpoint: “W. Van. Mieris. Fe= 1708”, WM-103.a. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Willem van Mieris (Leiden 1662 – 1747 Leiden), Portrait of an Elegant Woman, 1708, oil on oval panel, 19.5 x 15 cm, signed and dated in light paint, left midpoint: “W. Van. Mieris. Fe= 1708”, WM-103.b. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Characters & Expressions

Rembrandt van Rijn (Leiden 1606 – 1669 Amsterdam), Stone Operation (Allegory of Touch), ca. 1624–25, oil on panel, 21.5 x 17.7 cm, RR-102. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Rembrandt van Rijn (Leiden 1606 – 1669 Amsterdam), Unconscious Patient (Allegory of Smell), ca. 1624–25, oil on panel, inset into an eighteenth-century panel, 21.5 x 17.7 cm (31.8 x 25.4 cm with eighteenth-century additions), signed in monogram on the upper right of the center panel: “RHF”, RR-111. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Rembrandt van Rijn (Leiden 1606 – 1669 Amsterdam), Three Musicians (Allegory of Hearing)​​​​​​, ca. 1624–25, oil on panel​​​​​​​, 21.5 x 17.7 cm, RR-105. ​​​​​​​© The Leiden Collection, New York.

Jan Lievens (Leiden 1607 – 1674 Amsterdam), Card Players, ca. 1625, oil on canvas, 97.5 x 105.4 cm, signed with initials in dark paint, upper left: “I.L.”, JL-102. © The Leiden Collection, New York.​​​​​​​

Food & Trade

Frans van Mieris (Leiden 1635 – 1681 Leiden), Elderly Couple in an Interior, ca. 1650–55, oil on panel, 52 x 39.6 cm, FM-100. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Gabriel Metsu (Leiden 1629 – 1667 Amsterdam), Woman Selling Game from a Stall, ca. 1653–54, oil on canvas, 161.3 x 130 cm, signed in dark paint on side of wooden barrel, lower right: “Gmet∫u” (“Gm” in ligature), GM-114 © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Gabriel Metsu (Leiden 1629 – 1667 Amsterdam), Old Woman at Her Meal in an Interior, ca. 1654–57, oil on canvas, 82.6 x 68.7 cm, indistinctly signed in light paint on wall mirror, center: “___ETSU”, GM-102 © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Gerrit Dou (Leiden 1613 – 1675 Leiden), Old Woman at a Window with a Candle, 1671,oil on panel, 26.5 x 20.5 cm, signed and dated bottom center in brown paint: “GDou / Anno 1671”, GD-103 © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Drawn from life

Rembrandt van Rijn (Leiden 1606 – 1669 Amsterdam), Young Lion Resting, ca. 1638–42, black chalk, white chalk heightening, and gray wash, on brown laid paper, 11.5 x 15 cm, RR-100. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

The Moral of the Story

Pieter Lastman (Amsterdam 1583 – 1633 Amsterdam), David Gives Uriah a Letter for Joab, 1619, oil on panel, 42.8 x 63.3 cm, signed and dated in light paint along lower right corner: “PLaſtman fecit 1619” (“PL” in ligature), PL-100 © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Rembrandt van Rijn (Leiden 1606 – 1669 Amsterdam), Minerva in Her Study, 1635, oil on canvas, 138 x 116.5 cm, signed and dated in dark paint, centered along left edge: “Rembrandt. f / 1635”, RR-107 © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Godefridus Schalcken (Made 1643 – 1706 The Hague), Parable of the Lost Piece of Silver, ca. 1680–85, oil on canvas, 39.5 x 49.3 cm, signed or inscribed in red paint, center of lower foreground: “G Schalcken.”, GS-108 © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Arent de Gelder (Dordrecht 1645 – 1727 Dordrecht), Old Testament Figure, Probably King Solomon, ca. 1685–90, oil on canvas, 105.3 x 94.5 cm, signed on separate piece of canvas: “ADe Gelder f.” (“AD” in ligature), AG-104 © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Faith

Hendrick ter Brugghen (The Hague 1588 – 1629 Utrecht), Allegory of Faith, ca. 1626, oil on canvas, 72.3 x 56.3 cm, signed and dated in the light paint along the center of the left edge: “HTBrügghen fecit 162(?)” (“HTB” in ligature), HBr-100. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Jan Steen (Leiden 1626 – 1679 Leiden), Prayer Before the Meal, 1660, oil on oak panel, 54.3 x 46 cm, signed and dated in dark paint on last line of large placard: “JAN STEEN 1660”, JS-116 © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Gerrit Dou (Leiden 1613 – 1675 Leiden), Old Man Praying, ca. 1665–70, oil on panel, 18 x 12.7 cm, signed in dark paint along right edge: “GDOU” (GD in ligature), GD-107 © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Arent de Gelder (Dordrecht 1645 – 1727 Dordrecht), Healing of the Sick, ca. 1722–25, oil on panel, 40.6 x 56.8 cm, signed twice, upper left and lower right: “A de Gelder f”, AG-106 © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Knowledge & Wisdom

Gerrit Dou (Leiden 1613 – 1675 Leiden), Scholar Sharpening His Quill, ca. 1632-35, oil on oval panel, 26.3 x 21.2 cm, signed under quill, center right: “GD” (in monogram), GD-104 © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Gerrit Dou (Leiden 1613 – 1675 Leiden), Scholar Interrupted at His Writing, ca. 1635, oil on oval panel, 24.5 x 20 cm, signed, on a piece of paper protruding from the open book: “GDou” (GD in ligature), GD-102 © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Frans van Mieris (Leiden 1635 – 1681 Leiden), Traveler at Rest, ca. 1657, oil on copper, 21.6 x 17.8 cm, signed, lower right: “F. van Mieris”, FM-122 © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Gabriel Metsu (Leiden 1629 – 1667 Amsterdam), Young Woman Seated in an Interior, Reading a Letter, ca. 1658–61, oil on panel, 25.8 x 21 cm, GM-103 © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Gabriel Metsu (Leiden 1629 – 1667 Amsterdam), Elegant Lady Writing at Her Desk, ca. 1662–64, oil on panel, 39.4 x 33.5 cm, signed in dark paint, upper left corner: “G.Metsu”, GM-110 © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Cornelis de Man (Delft 1621 – 1706 Delft), Portrait of the Pharmacist Dr. Ysbrand Ysbrandsz. (1634/35–1705) in an Interior, ca. 1667, oil on canvas, 58.2 x 49.7 cm, inscribed with sitter’s family name on painting with coat-of-arms, upper center: “Circumfpecte. YSBRANS.”, inscribed on book, center left: “ALL’ILLUSTRISSIMO SIGNOR CONTE NICOLO PONZONI”, CdM-100 © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Frans van Mieris (Leiden 1635 – 1681 Leiden), A Young Woman Writing a Letter, ca. 1670, oil on panel, 18.5 x 14.7 cm, signed on the edge of the table, lower left corner: “Fvan Mieris”, FM-124 © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Michiel van Musscher (Rotterdam 1645 – 1705 Amsterdam), Portrait of the Artist in His Studio, 1673, oil on panel, 37.4 x 28.6 cm, MM-103 © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Frans van Mieris (Leiden 1635 – 1681 Leiden), Woman Reading and a Man Seated at a Table, probably 1676, oil on panel, 33.1 x 27.8 cm, inscribed along upper edge of map, on background wall: “ CVR A PN DA(?) AD … Leyde.” Alternate reading: “(ABOAVA PI …VA(?)) AD … Leyde.”, FM-107 © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Youth

Jan Lievens (Leiden 1607 – 1674 Amsterdam), Boy in a Cape and Turban (Portrait of Prince Rupert of the Palatinate), ca. 1631, oil on panel, 66.7 x 51.8 cm, JL-104 © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Michael Sweerts (Brussels 1618 – 1664 Goa), Portrait of a Young Boy with a Hat, ca. 1655–56, oil on canvas, 39 x 27 cm, MS-101 © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Frans van Mieris (Leiden 1635 – 1681 Leiden), Child’s Lesson (Hannah Entrusting Her Son Samuel into the Care of the High Priest Eli?), ca. 1656–57, oil on panel with arched top, 29.2 x 21.7 cm, signed in light-colored paint, lower left corner: “F. van Mieris” ( “F” slightly cropped), FM-102 © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Pieter van der Werff (Kralingen 1665 – 1722 Rotterdam), Portrait of a Boy with a Miniature Three-Master, 1696, oil on canvas, signed and dated in light paint, centered along lower edge: “P:v. weRff fec / 1696”, PW-101 © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Age

Jan Lievens (Leiden 1607 – 1674 Amsterdam), Bookkeeper at His Desk, ca. 1627, oil on panel, 89.7 x 72.7 cm, signed in dark paint, lower left corner: “L”, JL-101. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

ArtistStudio of Rembrandt van Rijn, Rembrandt’s Mother, ca. 1628, oil on panel, 35.5 x 29.1 cm, JL-106 © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Leiden School (Leiden 1613 – 1675 Leiden),Elderly Man, ca. 1630, oil on panel, 50.9 x 40.6 cm, GD-109. © The Leiden Collection, New York.

Rembrandt van Rijn (Leiden 1606 – 1669 Amsterdam), Portrait of a Seated Woman with Her Hands Clasped, 1660, oil on canvas, 77.5 x 64.8 cm, signed and dated at center right: “Rembrandt f. 1660”, RR-113 © The Leiden Collection, New York.