Always wanted to paint your own masterpiece?
You know the feeling. You’re exploring one of the great museums of the world, and you’re looking closely at some of the famous masterpieces on view. You get up close to a drawing by Rembrandt, and inevitably you think to yourself, How on earth did he do that? How did he make that face look so alive?
Or you come around the corner into a room full of exquisite Dutch still-life paintings, and you’re awestruck by the beautiful detail and the realism of the vessels, tablecloths, fruit, and more. You wonder, How would I create realistic surface textures like those?
Maybe you’ve wished you could travel back in time to sit down with van Gogh, or Vermeer, or Rembrandt himself. You’d watch them apply the underpainting, sketch the shapes, and finesse the details—all the while answering your questions. But until we master time travel, the world-famous Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has come up with the next best thing.
On its new YouTube channel called RijksCreative, the museum has put together an impressive, one-of-a-kind learning experience.
Two Series | One-of-a-Kind Learning Experience
RijksCreative features two extensive series of how-to videos that draw on the museum’s vast resources: its top-notch permanent collection, its curators, and its art instructors. Each video shows you how to create compositions like you were trained by Rembrandt or how to paint expressive self-portraits inspired by van Gogh.
One of the best things about the videos is that you don’t have to be a professional artist to follow along. The skills of these great masters are explained step by step, so developing artists can learn them, too.
On top of that, the videos are great fun to watch: They’re upbeat, lighthearted, and approachable. The instructors have great energy and good humor. And they don’t necessarily get everything right the first time, so you can learn from their mistakes and find solutions before you need them.
The videos, which run approximately 20 minutes each, begin with a curator explaining key facts and ideas about a particular artist or type of work, helping you understand what makes it unique and important. Then an instructor shows you how to accomplish something similar on your own, whether it’s copying a masterwork or creating a painting of your own in the same spirit. You get a link to the reference artwork and a list of supplies underneath each video.
Learn from Rembrandt
The first series on RijksCreative is inspired by 17th-century Dutch master Rembrandt van Rijn. In this series, you’ll learn how to paint and draw like this famous Dutch master in seven separate episodes:
- How to draw like Rembrandt
- How to draw emotion like Rembrandt
- How to paint a self-portrait like Rembrandt
- How to paint materials (fabric, metal, and more) like Rembrandt
- How to make your own paint like Rembrandt
- How to paint light like Rembrandt
- How to create compositions like Rembrandt
