Ten years and $489M on, Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum reopens

By Bryony Jones, CNN

Updated 1430 GMT (2230 HKT) April 13, 2013

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Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum, home to one of the world's greatest art collections, reopens to the public on Saturday April 13, after a mammoth 10-year US$489m renovation project. The exhibits have been reorganized into chronological order, with paintings, furniture and other objects displayed side-by-side to tell the history of the Netherlands.

Photos: Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years

Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years – Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum, home to one of the world's greatest art collections, reopens to the public on Saturday April 13, after a mammoth 10-year US$489m renovation project. The exhibits have been reorganized into chronological order, with paintings, furniture and other objects displayed side-by-side to tell the history of the Netherlands.

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The museum's original entrance hall, designed by architect Pierre Cuypers in 1885, and decorated with opulent wall paintings by Georg Sturm, has been returned to its former glory.

Photos: Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years

Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years – The museum's original entrance hall, designed by architect Pierre Cuypers in 1885, and decorated with opulent wall paintings by Georg Sturm, has been returned to its former glory.

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The jewel-like stained glass windows in the entrance hall celebrate great architects, sculptors and painters, including Rembrandt van Rijn, and add to the cathedral-like atmosphere.

Photos: Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years

Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years – The jewel-like stained glass windows in the entrance hall celebrate great architects, sculptors and painters, including Rembrandt van Rijn, and add to the cathedral-like atmosphere.

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Contrasting ancient and modern, Spanish architects Cruz y Ortiz reinstated the building's original courtyards, which had been crammed with makeshift galleries for decades, linking them into one huge, bright and airy atrium.

Photos: Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years

Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years – Contrasting ancient and modern, Spanish architects Cruz y Ortiz reinstated the building's original courtyards, which had been crammed with makeshift galleries for decades, linking them into one huge, bright and airy atrium.

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The museum's collection of one million objects, some 8,000 of which are on display at any one time, span 800 years, from the Middle Ages to modern artist Piet Mondrian, and including this 1887 self portrait by Vincent Van Gogh.

Photos: Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years

Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years – The museum's collection of one million objects, some 8,000 of which are on display at any one time, span 800 years, from the Middle Ages to modern artist Piet Mondrian, and including this 1887 self portrait by Vincent Van Gogh.

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This painted terracotta statue of the "Mater Dolorosa," or "Our Lady of Sorrows" (c.1500-1510) is among the new acquisitions collected while the museum was closed to visitors.

Photos: Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years

Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years – This painted terracotta statue of the "Mater Dolorosa," or "Our Lady of Sorrows" (c.1500-1510) is among the new acquisitions collected while the museum was closed to visitors.

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At the heart of the gallery is its most-prized possession, "The Night Watch," by Rembrandt van Rijn (1642). The museum was designed around the painting, and it is the only artwork to be returned to its original place.

Photos: Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years

Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years – At the heart of the gallery is its most-prized possession, "The Night Watch," by Rembrandt van Rijn (1642). The museum was designed around the painting, and it is the only artwork to be returned to its original place.

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Turner Prize-winning British artist Richard Wright was commissioned to create a new installation, featuring more than 47,000 black stars, in dizzying patterns on the ceilings of the rooms to the sides of "The Night Watch".

Photos: Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years

Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years – Turner Prize-winning British artist Richard Wright was commissioned to create a new installation, featuring more than 47,000 black stars, in dizzying patterns on the ceilings of the rooms to the sides of "The Night Watch".

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