Sculpture

The Rijksmuseum holds close to 1000 Western sculptures offering a superb cross section of art historical periods and materials. The most important materials used are wood, bronze, alabaster, ivory, marble and terracotta, but there are also sculptures made of sandstone (about 50).

The accent lies on Dutch art, primarily dating from the late Middle Ages (wood), the 17th century (terracotta) and the 19th century (marble). These Dutch sculptures are placed in an international context through the museum’s numerous foreign masterpieces. For instance, among the bronze, marble and terracotta works are splendid Italian Renaissance sculptures, and the wood collection features refined religious works from Germany.

The Rijksmuseum also boasts a splendid collection of Asian sculptures.