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Free Fall/Autumn Themed Art Phone Backgrounds from the Rijksmuseum Archive

The Dutch Rijksmuseum is my absolute favorite museum, ever. It's collection is massive and includes famous works from amazing artists like van Gogh, Frans Hals and Rembrandt.

But it's not just the famous works that I love, the museum also has amazing, stunning works you probably never heard of. And the awesome thing? Many of them are available, copyright free in their online archive. 

So today, I'm going to share with you some of the beautiful works I've found that you can download and use as your phone background this fall season! I have altered some of the images slightly, by cutting them. removing text or borders or adding a background color, however, I have linked the original artwork. If you'd like to see them, just click on the title to go to the Rijksmuseum website page about the work! 

1. Etalage van boekhandel H.M. Fletcher te Londen / Shopfront of bookstore H.M Fletcher in London

Is there anything more cosy than an English vintage bookshop? This gorgeous drawing was used as a print cover on the sales catalogue of H.M. Fletcher Rare Books sometime in the 1980's. Bill Fletcher, owner of the shop for 70 years, never specialized his offerings, saying that if he were to be restricted to any particular field, there would always be so many beautiful and exciting books that he would be unable to buy because they were outside the field. A man after my own heart! 



Another work depicting the lovely atmosphere of shopping for books! This print was made by the Belgian artist François Gailliard in 1919. I love the little dogs playing in the background! Written on this print was the word bouquinistes, a word I'd never heard of before. It means specialists in second-hand and antiquarian books. Which makes sense, seeing how much attention the men in the foreground seem to be paying to the details of the books they are holding. True booklovers, they are timeless!

3. Uil zittend op een boek / Owl sitting on a book


This print with impressive colors was made by Frans Everbag, a Dutch printmaker and painter who spend most of his time in Amsterdam. It's dated somewhere between 1887 and 1931 according to the Rijksmuseum. There isn't much known about Frans' life, but he has made some gorgeous prints of animals just like this one. I felt this particular one is a perfect fall scene: an owl, a leather bound book and handwritten letters with deep red seals. 

4. September


This print was made by Julie de Graag in 1917. She used two woodcarvings to form this image of two cute mushrooms nestled together. Julie is an artist I'm so happy to have found through the Rijksmuseum archive! Even though she died young at 46 and was sick most of her life, she has left an amazing legacy through her many works. She mostly focused on nature scenes, of which these mushrooms are a beautiful example. 




This is another one of Julie's woodcarvings that I thought were absolutely perfect for fall! This work is also from 1917. 


The feeling of letting your hands brush over a pretty linen book cover? One of the best feelings ever! And how pretty is this design? It's unknown who made this particular work, although it is speculated to be inspired by Reinier Willem Petrus de Vries (could there be a more Dutch name?). Who was a graphic designer, creating art for book publishers. This book cover is dated somewhere between 1884 and 1952.



This beautiful promotional flyer shows a beehive, surrounded by flowers. It was designed by Suze Fokker in 1898 for a contest held by the National Exhibition of Women's Labor in the Netherlands. The exhibition included musical acts, theatre, lectures but also demonstrations of machines used in the work field as well as surveys used for research about women's labor. The aim was to get more women into the work field, as well as providing better salaries and working conditions for the women already at work. It's an important piece of the history of female emancipation in the Netherlands! And the flyer is a beautiful work of art showcasing the female talent in the art field at the time!




The painter of this work, Louis Eugène Lambert, did so many paintings of cats that his nickname became Lambert of the Cats. I don't want to bring my 21st century lexicon to this man born in 1825 but I have to say: that's iconic. His paintings are absolutely adorable and if I lived in the 19th century without constant access to cute cat pictures on the internet: I would have been his biggest fan. Seriously, if you like cats and old paintings, google this man and you'll be delighted! 



I find it so fascinating to think about these flowers growing in the 19th century and them still being around for me to admire from behind the screen of my phone! What a time to be alive. This is an entry found in a travel journal of someone traveling through Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Germany. These flowers were picked in the Engadin region, which is a long, absolutely gorgeous, Alpine valley. Also, how pretty is the handwriting of the journal keeper? Such a cute detail.


This nature oil painting is SO calming to me! The deep greens and orange make for such a pretty fall nature scene! It was painted by Matthijs Maris in 1860, when he was working in the Oosterbeek area with his brother. I can't imagine how long it took him to capture the serenity of this little creek.



I took the image of this little frog from a calendar to give it a little moment for itself. The print was created by Theo van Hoytema in 1910. Hoytema was more known for his works depicting birds, but I think this froggy came out rather cute too! He made these calendar pages after spending some time in a sanatorium for something they called neurosis, which most likely meant he suffered from mental health issues like anxiety. He moved in with his sister, who cared for him while he created the calendar pages.

12. Muizen gaan op jacht / Mice on the hunt

This is a drawing for a Dutch children's book series about two kids who turn into kids as small as mice and join the mice world in their backyard. Of course, many adventures (including them trying not to get eaten by their cat) follow! The drawing was made in 1894 by Willem Wenckebach.



This beautiful fall scene was painting, probably, by Simon Moulijn, a Dutch painter, somewhere between 1876 and 1948. I love the orange color scheme and the little bridge in the distance.

14. Fragment katoen in rood bedrukt met een asymmetrisch patroon van vlindervormige bloemen / Cotton fragment printed in red with and asymmetric pattern of butterfly shaped flowers


I'm always sad to see how few fabrics have a backstory in museums. The name of the person who designed this beautiful pattern is lost to history. Did they choose the deep red ink, or was that the work of someone else. What was the intent for the fabric? Was this specific piece a left over piece of scrap? Or was it meant for a project that never happened? Either way, the maker probably never could have dreamed of the pattern being used as a background on a small portable computer. And I think that's kind of cool.



This cozy, indoor scene of a little girl in a white dress playing piano is a painting by Jacob Maris. It's from around 1879. Jacob was considered the most important and influential Dutch landscape painter when he was working! But, apparently he didn't shy away from painting other things, because this little scene is masterfully done. I love the contrast of the bright, white, silky looking dress against the dark red carpet and the brown piano and walls! 


Hopefully you've found an artwork you'd like to use or at least enjoyed some of the history behind them. Again, I highly encourage you to check out the Rijksmuseum website and take a journey through their collection yourself. There is so much beauty to discover in there!












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