Rembrandt Etching Heads to Skin in Amsterdam Tattoo Pop-Up
The Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam has opened a pop-up tattoo studio, and one man will leave with a free back piece copied from a Rembrandt print. The studio is part of The Poor Man's Rembrandt Project, which runs from 26 October to 7 November 2026.
The chosen design is Rembrandt's 1633 etching The Descent from the Cross, which shows the body of Jesus being lowered from the cross. The Art Newspaper reports that Bo Kwakernaak, 28, from Amersfoort, was picked through an open call on Instagram to be the canvas for the piece.
The full back tattoo will take 20 hours. After around ten hours, the work is still partial. It will be finished during a late-night opening at the museum on 7 November.
The project is a joint effort between the museum and two tattoo studios: Schiffmacher & Veldhoen in Amsterdam and St. Catherina in Antwerp. Henk Schiffmacher, one half of Schiffmacher & Veldhoen, and his artists are setting up inside Rembrandt's house for the run.
Anyone can get a smaller Rembrandt tattoo at the studio. Visitors can book a time slot or drop in between 26 October and 7 November. Prices for the smaller designs range from €100 to €300. The museum's Facebook page said time-slot bookings opened on 28 September.
This is the second edition of the project. Schiffmacher & Veldhoen first offered Rembrandt-inspired tattoos from a pop-up studio at the museum in 2023.
The idea is a simple one: take a print made almost 400 years ago and put it on living skin. The museum, led by director Milou Halbesma, is inviting visitors to do the same. Because the tattoos are done in the house itself, the sessions also draw people into the building where Rembrandt lived and worked.
For anyone in Amsterdam, or planning a trip, the window is short. The studio runs for under two weeks, and the 7 November late opening is when the back piece is due to be completed.
