iRembrandt House MuseumJodenbuurt / Waterlooplein
The Poor Man's Rembrandt Project
Tattoo artist Henk Schiffmacher and his team set up studio inside Rembrandt's house, inking original Rembrandt-inspired designs on visitors — the tattoo as the affordable old master.
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Preview: written before the show opened
On 7 November, during Museumnacht, tattoo artists will finish Rembrandt's The Descent from the Cross (1633) across one person's entire back. The museum gave the back piece away free to mark this project's return after its first run in 2023.
For two weeks, Henk Schiffmacher, Amsterdam's "tattoo king" for 45 years, runs a working studio in the modern wing with six other artists. The designs come from Rembrandt's etchings and drawings: the flash sheets on the museum's page show a lion, an elephant, a camel and a row of beggars on sticks. You pick one and leave with it. The title is an old tattooist's line that Schiffmacher quotes: tattoos are "the poor man's Rembrandt", art that costs less than a painting. Rembrandt went bankrupt in this house, and the cheapest Rembrandt in it now costs €100.
Tattoos cost €100 to €350, with a €50 deposit when you book a slot, and a few walk-in slots are kept each day. From 2 November the museum closes at 17.00.
Look for
The Descent from the Cross back piece
Rembrandt's 1633 scene of Christ lowered from the cross, tattooed over a winner's whole back, gets its final session in the museum on Museumnacht, 7 November.
The flash sheets
Look for the sketched designs after Rembrandt: a crouching lion, an elephant, a camel's head and old men leaning on walking sticks.
A tattoo studio in Rembrandt's house
Seven artists from Schiffmacher & Veldhoen and Antwerp's St. Catharina Tattoo work in the modern wing, on booked clients and daily walk-ins.
Good for
- Locals Who've Seen It All
- Out-Of-Town Guests
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Image credits
9
- The Poor Man's Rembrandt ProjectCourtesy of Rembrandt House Museum
- Abracadabra: Mysteries from Houdini to Hans KlokJeroen Bont
- Recent Additions to the Collection in the Art GalleryCourtesy of Joods Museum (Jewish Museum, Jewish Cultural Quarter)
- Plantation along the CanalCourtesy of Amsterdam Museum
- Rembrandt House Museum14:43, 17 October 2006 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Joods Museum (Jewish Museum, Jewish Cultural Quarter)S Sepp / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Amsterdam MuseumJvhertum, Public domain
- Museum Willet-HolthuysenJane023 / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
- H'ART MuseumFentener van Vlissingen, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0