List of painters in the collection of the Rijksmuseum

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

List of painters in the Rijksmuseum collection (simplified)

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam holds a vast painting collection. It includes more than 3,000 paintings by over 1,000 artists. Many artists are represented by only a single work, while some have many pieces. About 300 works are by unknown or anonymous painters. The oldest works in the collection include former altarpieces from Amsterdam churches. The collection’s highlights feature major Dutch and Flemish masters such as Pieter Aertsen, Rembrandt, Nicolaes Maes, and Bartholomeus van der Helst. Only a small number of artists are women (about 24), with notable examples like Judith Leyster, Gesina ter Borch, Catharina van Hemessen, and Rachel Ruysch.

The article’s painters are listed by century of birth. Here are a few notable examples from each section to give you an idea of what the Rijksmuseum owns:

Born before 1500
- Giovanni Bellini
- Hieronymus Bosch
- Lucas Cranach the Elder
- Carlo Crivelli
- Geertgen tot Sint Jans
- Maarten van Heemskerck

Born in the 16th century
- Pieter Aertsen
- Cornelis van Haarlem
- Hendrick Goltzius
- Jan van Scorel
- Pieter Claesz
- Dirck van Baburen

Born in the 17th century
- Rembrandt van Rijn
- Frans Hals
- Johannes Vermeer
- Jacob van Ruisdael
- Gerard ter Borch
- Jan Steen
- Pieter de Hooch

Born in the 18th century
- Jan van Huysum
- Frans Hals’s circle and other Dutch masters from the late 17th and early 18th centuries are represented in the collection
- (The page also shows a broader 18th‑century Dutch school with several artists active at the time)

Born in the 19th century
- Jozef Israëls
- Hendrik Willem Mesdag
- George Hendrik Breitner
- Anton Mauve
- Willem Witsen
- Piet Mond (represented among other Dutch painters of the era)

Born in the 20th century
- Suzanne Perlman
- Carel Willink
- Monet (Claude Monet) has at least one work in the Rijksmuseum
- Other 20th‑century Dutch and international artists are represented as well

Why this matters
- The Rijksmuseum’s list reflects the museum’s focus on Dutch Golden Age painting, with a strong representation of 16th–17th century masters, along with important works from later centuries and a growing collection of modern works.
- The collection includes famous names as well as many lesser-known artists, offering a broad view of European painting history.
- The museum’s catalog notes that women painters are present but relatively few in number compared with male artists.

For those interested in the full, detailed roster of painters and their exact counts of works, the Rijksmuseum’s collection page provides the complete, up-to-date listing.