AMSTERDAM.- With over two million visitors (2,350,000), the Rijksmuseum once again looks back on a succesful year. This is the third year in a row that the museum has attracted over two million visitors, far more than projections anticipated. The museum welcomed over 325,000 children free of charge. More than 128,000 were part of school groups, an increase of 26% compared to 2014. This brings the number of children visiting the Rijksmuseum since its reopening in April 2013 to nearly one million. In 2015 the Rijksmuseum was named European Museum of the Year.

Rembrandt Year
For the Rijksmuseum, 2015 was mainly devoted to Rembrandt. In the spring, the Late Rembrandt exhibition drew an impressive 520,000 visitors. Then in September, the French and Dutch governments announced the purchase of the monumental double portrait of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit, which Rembrandt painted in 1634. Both paintings will be alternately displayed in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Louvre in Paris. This purchase is the first of its kind that was jointly decided by two countries and, moreover, for the unprecedented price of 160 million euros.

#startdrawing
In 2015, the Rijksmuseum focused on stimulating creativity and knowledge by organising 500 workshops, 50 courses and 30 lectures. The successful campaign #startdrawing has reached over 50,000 visitors, who tapped into their own creativity using a pencil and sketchbook given free of charge by the museum.