Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam

You recognise the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam straight away by its white extension on Museumplein, nicknamed the bathtub. Behind the glass entrance lies the original building from 1895. Two centuries of architecture meet here, and the same goes for the art. You walk from an abstract Mondrian to a chair by a designer, and a few rooms later you are watching a video work. Modern and contemporary art hang alongside design, posters and photography. Below you read what you will see, how the building grew and how to plan your visit.

What you see in the Stedelijk Museum

The collection of the Stedelijk Museum counts almost 90,000 objects, from the early twentieth century to today. The work of Kazimir Malevich is a highlight. In 1958 the museum bought a group of his paintings and drawings, giving it the largest Malevich collection outside Russia. You also see Piet Mondrian, Karel Appel, Willem de Kooning, Henri Matisse and Wassily Kandinsky, as well as Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock and Yayoi Kusama. For contemporary art, look for work by Marlene Dumas and Rineke Dijkstra. Alongside the collection there are changing exhibitions, so no two visits are quite the same.

Design, posters and photography

This is more than a museum of paintings, and that has a lot to do with Willem Sandberg. He worked here as a curator from 1938 and was director from 1945 to 1963. Under his leadership the museum started collecting applied art, prints, drawings and photography. It was the first museum of modern art in Western Europe to add photography to its collection. Today you find graphic design, industrial design, posters and artists' books. That mix is what makes a visit surprising. You see not only what artists painted, but also how designers shaped the objects and images of everyday life.

The building of the Stedelijk Museum

The Stedelijk Museum opened on 14 September 1895 in a neo Renaissance building by architect Adriaan Willem Weissman. In 1954 a wing was added and named after director Sandberg. The biggest change came in 2012, when the museum reopened with a new wing by Benthem Crouwel Architects. Its smooth white shape soon earned it the nickname the bathtub. Since then the main entrance has been on Museumplein, behind a large glass facade. The old and new parts are connected, so during your visit you move from one building to the other almost without noticing, from brick halls to bright white rooms.

Planning your visit

The museum asks you to buy your ticket online in advance. Entry is free if you are under 19, and for holders of a Museumkaart, the Dutch annual museum pass, or the I amsterdam City Card. With a Museumkaart you reserve a time slot on the website. Backpacks and weekend bags are not allowed in the galleries, but you can leave them in the lockers. Check which exhibitions are on, because they change regularly and shape much of your route. Museumplein makes it easy to combine your visit with the Van Gogh Museum or the Rijksmuseum, both a few minutes' walk away.

Frequently asked questions about the Stedelijk Museum

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