Private Rembrandt Tours in Amsterdam

BBC quality tours by art historian Drs. Kees Kaldenbach

Attending a live performance of an important work of music, irrespective of the genre, can be a unique and electrifying experience.

This same kind of experience can happen when a viewer comes face to face with the high art of painting. There are paintings by great masters that retain the ability to accomplish this. They rise up from the museum wall like a tidal surge of power and engulf you every time you come near them. The result is a meeting of individual viewer and one singular work of art. However, the viewer needs to be primed to be engulfed by a good painting, and this does not come by itself. It requires effort and the acquisition of visual knowledge; through a lifetime of study, by repeated visits to museums or painting galleries, mentally sorting and valuing works of art, understanding schools of art and thus developing a discerning eye. This opens the mind and turns what formerly seemed like a strange dish into a feast.

The unaided visitor stands in front of Rembrandt’s Night Watch and thinks: “This
looks like a fine painting and a large one by all means. I have seen it in
reproductions a thousand times, but what makes it a truly great work of art?  What am I missing?”

At times, you may indeed be missing out on a greater or lesser part of the ‘surge of power’ experience described above.

Why not enrich your viewing experience in Amsterdam by having your own private art expert at your side when you visit a museum? Art historian Drs. Kees Kaldenbach is available to help tutor your visual mind. His enthusiasm and step-by-step introduction excels in furthering your understanding, so that elements of composition, color, brush strokes, and meaning will become clear that never seemed apparent before.

Many clients have had the pleasure of discovering Kaldenbach’s talents as both art historian and guide. The author of books and articles, he is a recognized public educator in the field of the fine arts, having been featured by a number of TV and radio networks including the BBC, NTV and RNW. His encyclopedic multimedia web site on Vermeer and other Delft artists is one of a kind where you will find such treasures as the Digital Vermeer House and multimedia walks through ancient historic drawings of Delft. It is a rare and unique privilege that the Rijksmuseum has linked from the main Rijksmuseum site to the Kaldenbach site. Start at www.rijksmuseum.nl and select Collection, after which you choose Digital Collaboration and the Digital Vermeer House.The Kaldenbach site also contains source material on Van Gogh and Rembrandt.     More info on-line  

Kaldenbach’s tours are no simple shower of academic arcane names, dates and facts. What makes them unique is that by building on his experience as a teacher and plugging into prior knowledge within the viewer’s experience he succeeds in explaining the broader story.

Any small party of visitors (preferably groups well under 9 persons) may make use of his expert guidance when visiting the Rembrandt house or the Rijksmuseum.

In addition to his Rembrandt tours, other art tours are also available. Visits to the Van Gogh Museum can be arranged. Vermeer tours to the major museums in Amsterdam and The Hague may also be reserved. Prior to these trips it is also possible for him to give you an introductory lecture either at your hotel or at his home in Amsterdam.  More info on-line

Rembrandt walk

Another option is enjoying a Rembrandt walk in the historic center of Amsterdam. This Rembrandt walk may begin at the Doelen Hotel, former home of the Civic Guards and The Night Watch. On the first bridge that we see, we can make a full turn around our axis and see a panorama of 360 degrees, noting a number of streets that are of major importance in understanding Rembrandt’s life.

Enter the Staal Street for a moment to look at the Staalhof, the black woollen cloth guild.  Then we turn right at the Kloveniersburgwal and proceed to the third bridge, entering the Oude Hoogstraat. There we see the headquarters of the first multinational trading company in the world, which also included a military branch. Continue walking towards Dam Square, Damstraat while we discuss the painter’s models and painting traders who were located there. Then we take a detour and end up at the Zuiderkerk and the square in front of Rembrandt House museum. There we talk about the many faceted art empire of Hendrick Uylenburg, a family member of Rembrandt’s first wife Saskia.

Follow this link for more information on-line

Meet the author . . . .

Contact info:

Drs. Kees Kaldenbach

Haarlemmermeerstraat 83 hs

1058 JS Amsterdam

The Netherlands

tel: (0)20 - 669 8119

cell: (0)6 - 2868 9775

 e-mail: kalden@xs4all.nl

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