Rembrandt at 400: modern, impressive, frustrating

The thumbnails in All The Rembrandts also link, through a series of stages, to enormous final images. Placing your mouse pointer over one of the 19 opening images will first generate a larger thumbnail and some interactive options. Clicking on the new thumbnail results in an image which fills the interactive exhibit's window, along with some background information about the painting. Clicking that window's "Read More" link moves the surfer back to the main browser window and a museum page dedicated to that specific work, and finally, selecting the "Extra large view" option on the dedicated page opens renditions that are 1600 pixels high. (There is no magnification capability here, so you won't be able to zoom in on a specific detail of a painting if, for instance, you get an urge to count the hairs in a subject's beard - but personally, I prefer having the entire image available to me at once, even if it does mean scrolling around a bit to see the whole thing.)

Finally, in a tribute to what may be his most recognizable painting, Nightwatching takes the visitor through the creation of a theatrical interpretation of "The Night Watch," created for the museum by film maker Peter Greenaway. Unfortunately, while there is an abundance of drawings and computer renderings, there are no actual photographs or video clips of the production in action, so the closest we can get is watching a television commercial created for the anniversary.

While there are other areas to explore at the Rijksmuseum website apart from the Rembrandt exhibits, I'll mention just one more here – specifically, the Masterpieces section, where you'll find a series of QuickTime panoramics of the museum's current exhibitions, and the "Masterpieces Special," which could almost have rated its own review. The first option in Masterpieces is the Images collection, which entertains even as it loads - arranging the almost 300 tiny thumbnails of its "artobjects" list into a pop-up window. With a similar interface to that of the All the Rembrandts feature, a series of clicks will take you from the thumbnailed masterpieces through to full-sized images of artifacts that range from paintings and sculptures, to ceramics and even furniture. (Well, not all the thumbnails, unfortunately. In another example of the site's inconsistency, many of the artifacts will eventually lead you to a virtually blank page saying nothing more than, "No id given.")

Themes takes more detailed surveys of such subjects as the work of 17th Century painter Jan Steen, and the cultural impact of the Netherlands' overseas empire. Look Closer offers highlighted examinations of specific works (though in some, but not all cases, the curatorial notes are only available in Dutch), while the Golden Age Quiz and Timeline add context to the collection. The last two features in the Masterpieces Special are a highly interactive tour of a 17th century Dollhouse (a spectacularly elaborate construction which would have cost as much as a real house when it was built), and a detailed analysis of The Night Watch. This latter exhibit explains everything from symbolism and technique, to a roll call of "Who's Who" in the painting – all available through a series of interactive hotspots and pop-in windows.

No doubt the Rijksmuseum website is getting a good deal of extra traffic this year due to the Rembrandt 400 celebrations, and while it may not immediately look like a typical museum website, it does have some factors in common with most brick and mortar examples. Like any real museum, you're likely to be impressed by certain features and puzzled or annoyed by others. There's a good chance that you'll find yourself a bit lost from time to time if you're trying to find a particular exhibit, but some wrong turns may well end up leading you to a treasure you weren't even looking for. And regardless of what you think of the way the place operates, there's plenty worth seeing, and you won't regret the visit.

The Rijksmuseum, and all it's Rembrandt and non-Rembrandt wonders, can be found at http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/index.jsp.

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