Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn bought this pad in 1639, when he was 33 and at the height of his Golden Age powers. Some 17 years later he was bankrupt, his house sold at auction, and the man himself moved to more modest digs on Rozengracht. Still, the artist’s loss was art history’s gain, as the city kept detailed records of such sales, and posterity has a good record of how Rembrandt lived. These records have been used to re-create the scene as it would have been when Rembrandt lived here, from his salon to his studio and kitchen. They’ve even excavated the cesspit (also used as a rubbish tip back then) and found a couple of the great man’s marbles. The house also contains a fascinating collection of around 250 sketches by Rembrandt, his peers and pupils. A useful prelude to his more famous paintings in the Rijksmuseum.