The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is the Dutch national museum. It has on display 8,000 objects of art and history, from its total collection of 1 million objects from the years 1200–2000, among which are some masterpieces by Rembrandt, Frans Hals, and Johannes Vermeer. Next to its main holdings of the art of the 17th century, the Rijksmuseum holds a large collection of photographs. This collection includes 350 daguerreotypes, the earliest photographs, produced from 1840 to 1860. The conservation and restoration department of the Rijksmuseum employs approximately 50 conservators, among who are four professionals dedicated to the conservation and restoration of photographic materials.
Rijksmuseum shares a building with the Conservation Department of the University of Amsterdam and the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands. These institutions exchange the expertise of highly trained personell and their scientific equipment for instrumental analysis. Scanning Electron Microscopy, Fourier- Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy, Raman Micrcoscopy, Stereo- and Digital Microscopy, UV-Flourescence and Infrared Imaging, Reflectance Transformation Imaging, among others.
