How to Browse and Search the Rijksmuseum Online Collection
The Rijksmuseum's online collection and Rijksstudio put Dutch masters at your fingertips. Here's how to search it well and save what you find.
Quick answers
- How do I search the Rijksmuseum online collection?
- Search by artist surname first, then narrow with the object type, material, and date filters. Toggling the filter that shows only downloadable works is the fastest way to reach material you can reuse rather than only view.
- What is Rijksstudio?
- Rijksstudio is the Rijksmuseum's free personal-collection feature. An account lets you save works into sets and download high-resolution files of public-domain pieces, and the museum actively encourages people to make new things from the collection.
- Do I need an account to use the Rijksmuseum collection?
- Browsing and searching need no account. A free Rijksstudio account is what unlocks saved sets and the largest downloadable files, which is why most people creating with the collection sign up.
- Is the whole Rijksmuseum collection free to use?
- No. Public-domain works are downloadable and reusable, but newer works and pieces on loan remain restricted. Check the rights indication on each object rather than assuming it applies collection-wide.
The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has digitised a vast portion of its collection — Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals, and centuries of decorative arts — and made much of it freely available online. This guide covers how to search it effectively and what you can do with what you find.
Searching well
The collection search rewards specific queries. A few habits that help:
- Search by artist surname first ("Rembrandt", "Vermeer"), then narrow by object type or date.
- Use the filters for object type (painting, print, photograph) and material to cut a broad result set down fast.
- Toggle the filter that shows only works available to download when your goal is reuse rather than research.
Rijksstudio
Rijksstudio is the museum's free personal-collection feature. Create an account and you can save works into sets, then download high-resolution files of public-domain pieces — often tens of megapixels. It's built for reuse: the museum actively encourages people to make things from the collection.
Browsing through Musist
If you'd rather explore across museums than dig through one search box, Musist interleaves the Rijksmuseum with The Met and the Smithsonian in a single feed. Filter the home feed to Rijksmuseum, open any object for full metadata and deep-zoom, or hit to hop between related works across all three collections.
For the specifics of pulling downloadable files, see Downloading Public-Domain Images from the Rijksmuseum.
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