Rembrandt-themed events and exhibitions will commemorate the 400th anniversary of the birth of the 17th-century Dutch master in Holland. Until May 7, the miniature city Madurodam will host an exhibition of ice sculptures, carved from 2,000 blocks of ice, including a full-scale Night Watch.
Rembrandt tulips, striped flowers popular during the tulip speculation period of 1620 to 1637, are planted in Keukenhof. Rembrandt's self-portrait, made up of 60,000 bulbs, will be in flower from mid-April. The Keukenhof float at the flower parade commemorates the Dutch Golden Age painter. Visitors can also learn to paint like Rembrandt at painting workshops.
In Amsterdam, 6,000 Rembrandt tulips surround the statue of Rembrandt on Rembrandt Square. From July 15, 2006 to February 2007, Rembrandt the Musical will play at the Royal Carré Theater. The Rembrandt tour takes walkers past the Rembrandt House Museum, where he lived and worked, to the churches where his wife and children are buried, and De Waag (the Weigh House), where he painted Dr. Tulp's Anatomic Lesson.
Visitors can walk through Rembrandt's native town, Leiden, where he spent the first 25 years of his life, past the picturesque Weddesteeg square, where he was born, and the Latin School, which he attended. A self-portrait of Rembrandt, in bulbs, will bloom this spring near the De Valk windmill.
Both walking tours are available at the local VVV offices (Tourist Information Boards).
