The Dutch must be the most patient museum-goers in the world.  They’ve waited 10 years and paid out nearly $500 million to rebuild a neo-gothic, 19th century art palace in the centre of AMSTERDAM.  On April 13/2013, the Rijksmuseum opened its doors once again.  Eighty new galleries were inaugurated, showing over 8,000 objects and paintings from the Middle Ages to the 20th century.

PHOTO – Jannes Linders, Gallery of Honour, Rijksmuseum, http://www.artinfo.com – The Dutch must be the most patient museum-goers in the world.  They’ve waited 10 years and paid out nearly $500 million to rebuild a neo-gothic, 19th century art palace in the centre of AMSTERDAM.  On April 13/2013, the Rijksmuseum opened its doors once again.  Eighty new galleries were inaugurated, showing over 8,000 objects and paintings from the Middle Ages to the 20th century.  The building – constructed in 1885 –  is young by European standards.  It was cleaned, inside and out.  Several rooms were demolished; others rebuilt as they once were – the Gallery of Honour, the staircases, the monumental hall.   It’s one of the first times that a national museum has had a complete makeover. With 3,000 square meters of additional exhibition space, the Rijks has become a completely new museum.