During Amsterdam’s 750th anniversary, the Rijksmuseum and the Royal Palace Amsterdam are collaborating on a major exhibition: Artus Quellinus – Sculptor of Amsterdam. It is the very first overview exhibition of Quellinus, with masterpieces from national and international collections that rarely or never travel.

A large selection of special loans from museums, churches and private collections will be on display. Some 130 masterpieces come from the Netherlands and abroad. These include the Louvre in Paris, the Rubens House in Antwerp, the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen and no fewer than 60 objects from the Rijksmuseum. For once, the life-size marble Saint Peter is leaving its permanent home: the St. Andrew’s Church in Antwerp. And from the Museum Kurhaus Kleve, the impressive Pallas Athene returns to Amsterdam.

The exhibition is the result of a unique collaboration between the Royal Palace Amsterdam and the Rijksmuseum. The Royal Palace, Quellinus’s masterpiece, with its wealth of sculptures, is an essential part of the exhibition and forms the context in which masterpieces from all phases of his career are presented. The Rijksmuseum’s rich collection, which includes Quellinus’ most beautiful portrait busts and dozens of terracotta sketches and models, is iconic. The exhibition also pays special attention to the Rijksmuseum’s extensive interdisciplinary research: ‘Quellinus at Work’. This offers new insights into the artist’s studio practice through 35 terracotta models and sketches from the Rijksmuseum collection.