\paperw19995 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \f1 The Rijksmuseum is one of the few buildings, and one of the earliest in Europe, to have been built expressly to house works
of art. In 1862, a competition was held for the design of a building in which all Dutch works of art could be assembled. The competition was won by the architect P. J. H. Cuypers, and the museum was inaugurated on July 13, 1885. Cuypers designed a buildi
ng in Neo-Gothic style, trying to make use of the forms and decorative motifs typical of all the major periods of Dutch art. This is why he chose red brick as the basic material, used as in medieval architecture but with the innovations of the Renaissanc
e grafted onto it. The decorative elements blend in well with the architecture and are set underneath the windows on the faτade, or between them, to mark the openings and impart rhythm to the surfaces. Statues, bas-reliefs, ceramic tiles and windows with
leaded panes of glass evoke the different eras of Dutch art. The two entrances are symbolically marked by carvings personifying architecture and sculpture on one side and painting and engraving on the other. Inside the building, art and artists are glor
ified by mosaic floors, decorated pillars, vaults of different kinds of stone, inscriptions and murals. On the inside as well as the outside, the building was intended to serve as a shrine to art and to appease the nationalist sentiments of part of the D
