Rijksmuseum

Netherlands / up to 238,000 ~ images available
Content

This rich collection originates from the historical treasures of Dutch art making.

From Rembrandt’s Night Watch to satirical pencil sketches, here you can explore vast amount of subjects: military themes, anatomical models, ceremonial scenes of weddings and funerals, public executions, maps of cities, historical persons, Biblical and farming scenes, domestic and wild animals, birds and mollusks, botanical drawings, ornaments, depictions of virtues and fables, medals, drawings of equipment, sculptures, vases, ships, landscapes, caricatures, symbols, city fashion and folk costumes. Most of the works originate in the 15th-20th century.

Netherlands, as well as Germany, Italy, France, England and as far as Sri Lanka, Indonesia and South Africa. Etching and engraving techniques are most prevalent, as well as silver prints, oil paintings, watercolours, parchment and handmade Japanese paper.

Authors include Jan Luyken, Philips Galle, Rembrandt van Rijn, Johann and Aegidius Sadeler, Hendrick Goltzius, Dirck Volckertsz, Bernard Picart, Wenceslaus Hollar, Robert Jacob Gordon, Simon Fokke, Reinier Vinkeles, Jacob Houbraken, Gesina ter Borch, Hieronymus Wierix, Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Abraham Rademaker and Léon Davent among others.

Prints (196,947 images)
Drawings (31,479 images)
Paintings (4,354 images)

How to find images?

1. Visit https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en.
2. Click on ‘Rijkstudio: dive into the collection’ > ‘Search in Rijkstudio’.
3. Once you see the results, click on ‘Refine’ and select ‘Images only’.

Now you can see all collection items.
Direct link
414,924 images on 28/09/2019

Themes
Authors
Is the digital scan under an open licence?

Open licence is applied to all works, which are believed to be in the public domain in the Netherlands (and most of the European countries).

You can also see this in the image page:

1. Go to the image page
2. Click on ‘more details to open ‘object data’ below an image’
3. Check ’Copyright section’ – there is a ‘Public Domain’ mark.

More information by the provider:
(no link)

Is the original work in the public domain?

Almost all original works in this collection are most likely in the public domain in most of the European countries.

You can check each image individually:
1. Go to the image page, click on ‘more details’ to open ‘object data’ below an image.
2. Identify all the authors and contributors.
3. Find the death date of the last living author.

If the last living author has passed away more than 70 years ago, most likely, his works are public domain in most of the European countries. 

However, if you intend to use the work for a commercial purpose, you might want to do additional checks and a risk assessment. See more copyright guidance here.  

Please note, it is always your personal responsibility to make sure the work is out of copyright in all countries where you create and distribute your new creative works. 

How to continue searching?

Go to the main page with all collection items (see section ‘How to find images?’). Click on ‘refine’ on the menu on the left to filter by:

  • maker
  • object type
  • period
  • place
  • material
  • technique
  • color

Alternatively, click on ‘Advanced search’ to specify details or subject.

How to view search results?

Go to the main page with all collection items (see section ‘How to find images?’).

Here you can display images as a grid or list and sort results in different ways.

How to continue browsing?

Go to the main page with all collection items (see section ‘How to find images?’).

Choose ‘sets’ instead of ‘images’ in the menu above to browse curated sets of images.

How to view an image?

Go to the image page. Here you can:

  • login and save your image (as a whole or a selection) into your own online gallery
  • share this work online
  • zoom in/out
  • filter images with the same color
How to view image metadata?

Go to the image page and click on ‘more details’ to open ‘object data’ section below an image. Here you can see:

  • title
  • object type
  • inscriptions
  • description
  • place
  • date
  • technique
  • materials
  • some keywords
  • copyright information
  • more information 
  • contact regarding an image
How to download?

1. Go to the image page.
2.
Scroll down to find and click on ‘Download image’ button.
3. A new window will open. It will inform about the size of an image.
4. Another new window will remind about creative things you can do.

How to attribute?

Artist name, Title, Date. The Rijksmuseum. Open licence (e.g. CC0 ) + a link

Share your new creative works using hashtag #revivoimages!


Attribution guidelines are based on goodwill. They are not legally binding, but they are a secret way how to:
– Say ‘thank you’ to the most friendly for creators museums, archives and libraries.
– Encourage the release of new open collections for creativity.
– Inform and equip your fellow creators with new powers.

So far we added 3 collections, currently work on 5 new collections from 35 in total (constantly growing). Contribute to help us grow from 32, 000 to 1,000,000 images faster!