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generation of wealthy merchants, bankers and entrepreneurs. It was a fascinating phase, when Holland freed itself from Spanish occupation and became a world superpower, with a navy strong enough to defeat the English and a lucrative trading network stretching around the globe. The plethora of Indonesian restaurants in Holland today stems from those trading links with the Dutch East Indies and the Spice Islands.

One of the most remarkable phenomena of this miraculous century was an explosion of artistic creativity, fuelled by demand from the new merchant classes who wanted to decorate their smart new homes. Probably more paintings were produced in Holland in the 17th century than anywhere before or since. And the greatest artist of them all was Rembrandt, who died 350 years ago in 1669.

Rembrandt could paint anything, from landscapes and windmills to biblical and historical scenes, portraits, self-portraits and group portraits; and he could make them formal, informal, comic or deadly serious. But what fascinated him most was people. He painted himself, the

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women he loved, his son, his parents. He depicted day-to-day scenes of life inside his house, his bedroom, his kitchen. He would go out into the city and sketch beggars, tradespeople and street musicians. But he would also paint expensive individual portraits of merchants, arms dealers and priests, and – perhaps most brilliantly – group portraits of burghers, the middle-aged men who effectively ran the city.

What’s more, Rembrandt was not interested in idealising or beautifying this world. What inspired him was the challenge of depicting what he saw with accuracy and honesty. And he was prolific, producing a huge number of paintings, etchings and sketches over a career spanning nearly 50 years. His work comprises an extraordinary document of the society of the Dutch Golden Age, a rich insight into the people who prospered, suffered, loved, mourned and celebrated during this extraordinary period.

And yesterday, to mark the anniversary of his death, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam opened an exhibition showcasing its entire holding of 22 Rembrandt paintings, alongside 60 drawings and more than 300 prints made from his incredibly detailed etchings. Most are portraits; ghosts of the Golden Age, their spirits captured in paint and ink by one of the greatest artists who ever lived.

If you enjoy the streets and sights of Amsterdam and you are interested in the people who made it what it was, then I recommend a trip this spring, combined with a visit to the exhibition before it closes in the early summer.

is on until June 10 (rijksmuseum.nl). In July, a restoration project will begin on his most famous painting,

and the public will be able to watch the process both at the museum and online.

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What inspired Rembrandt was the challenge of depicting what he saw with accuracy and honesty

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TRUE TO LIFE?and portraits by Rembrandt are on display at the Rijksmuseum