Rembrandt had a particularly good eye for what others overlooked. Not only the great historical or biblical scenes, but also the details of an ordinary life: the mischievous look of a young couple, the concentration on the face of a blind old man, the vulnerability of a newborn baby. In the exhibition Rembrandt & Life at the Rembrandt House, all these moments are juxtaposed, arranged along the stages of life that he captured over and over again.
The strongest work in the exhibition hangs not in the permanent rooms but in what the museum calls the treasure room: a separate room at the end of the tour, set up for slow watching. There hangs Jan Deijman's The anatomy lesson of 1656, on loan from the Amsterdam Museum. That museum is currently under renovation and temporarily has no space for the work, which means you can see it here. Only the centerpiece was preserved after a fire, but even so it is an impressive painting. Next to this work hangs Joseph Tells His Dreams from 1633, a rare oil sketch on paper that normally hangs in the Rijksmuseum. The special thing here: the corresponding print hangs next to it, so you can see exactly how Rembrandt went from sketch to final work.
The rest of the exhibition consists of prints from the museum's own collection, and they have been carefully chosen. The opening work shows a begging family at a front door, with what Head of Collection & Research Epco Runia describes as Rembrandt's cutest baby. A little further on hangs the etching Old Man, Looking Down from 1631, a quiet study of old age. The biblical scene The Blind Tobit shows a reunion full of emotion, and in Jacob and Benjamin (c. 1637), an etching and drypoint, you can see how Rembrandt captured family ties.
The treasury featuring The Anatomy Lesson of Jan Deijman and Joseph Tells His Dreams is on view this summer only, from June 12 through Aug. 30, 2026.
The Rembrandt House is on Jodenbreestraat in the Jodenbuurt neighborhood, in the building where Rembrandt himself lived from 1639 to 1658. The treasury with The Anatomy Lesson of Jan Deijman and Joseph Tells His Dreams is on view this summer only, from June 12 through August 30, 2026. After that, both loans will return to their owners. So those who want to see them have 11 weeks.