by r-huijts
Provides natural‑language access to the Rijksmuseum collection, enabling exploration, analysis, and retrieval of artwork details and high‑resolution images.
Rijksmuseum MCP Server exposes the Rijksmuseum’s collection through tools that can be invoked via natural language. It lets AI models and users search artworks, fetch detailed metadata, retrieve high‑resolution image tiles, explore user‑curated sets, open images in a browser, and generate artist timelines.
npx -y mcp-server-rijksmuseum (recommended) or run the built server from source.RIJKSMUSEUM_API_KEY with a valid API key from the Rijksmuseum API portal. Optionally adjust PORT and LOG_LEVEL.serverConfig section.search_artwork, get_artwork_details). The server returns structured responses that can be consumed by downstream AI workflows.Q: Do I need a Rijksmuseum API key?
A: Yes. Register at the Rijksmuseum API portal and set RIJKSMUSEUM_API_KEY in the environment.
Q: Which command should I use for installation?
A: The recommended approach is npx -y mcp-server-rijksmuseum which handles package fetching and execution.
Q: Can I run the server on a custom port?
A: Set the PORT environment variable; default is 3000.
Q: How are images delivered? A: Images are provided as tiled deep‑zoom resources, allowing incremental loading of high‑resolution data.
Q: Is there documentation for the underlying Rijksmuseum API? A: Yes, refer to the official Rijksmuseum API docs at https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/object-metadata/api/.
Q: How do I add the server to Claude Desktop?
A: Include the configuration shown in the serverConfig field below, then restart Claude Desktop.
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A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides access to the Rijksmuseum's collection through natural language interactions. This server enables AI models to explore, analyze, and interact with artworks and collections from the Rijksmuseum.
The server provides several tools for interacting with the Rijksmuseum's collection:
search_artwork)Search and filter artworks using various criteria including:
get_artwork_details)Retrieve comprehensive information about specific artworks, including:
get_artwork_image)Access high-resolution image data with deep zoom capabilities:
get_user_sets & get_user_set_details)Explore user-created collections:
open_image_in_browser)Open artwork images directly in your browser for detailed viewing.
get_artist_timeline)Generate chronological timelines of artists' works:
Here are some example queries you can ask the AI when using this server:
"Show me all paintings by Rembrandt from the 1640s"
"Find artworks that prominently feature the color blue"
"What are the most famous masterpieces in the collection?"
"Search for still life paintings from the Dutch Golden Age"
"Tell me everything about The Night Watch"
"What are the dimensions and materials used in Van Gogh's Self Portrait?"
"Show me high-resolution details of the brushwork in Vermeer's The Milkmaid"
"Compare the colors used in different versions of The Potato Eaters"
"Create a timeline of Rembrandt's self-portraits"
"How did Van Gogh's use of color evolve throughout his career?"
"Show me all works by Frans Hals in chronological order"
"What techniques did Jan Steen use in his paintings?"
"Find all artworks depicting biblical scenes"
"Show me paintings of Amsterdam in the 17th century"
"What artworks feature flowers or still life arrangements?"
"Find portraits that include musical instruments"
"Show me the most popular user-curated collections"
"Find sets that focus on landscape paintings"
"What are the recent additions to the museum's collection?"
"Show me collections featuring works from multiple artists"
"Let me examine the details in the background of The Night Watch"
"Show me a close-up of the jewelry in Girl with a Pearl Earring"
"Can you display the highest resolution version of The Jewish Bride?"
"I want to study the facial expressions in The Syndics"
You can install this server in two ways:
Update your Claude configuration file (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json):
{
"mcpServers": {
"rijksmuseum-server": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"mcp-server-rijksmuseum"
],
"env": {
"RIJKSMUSEUM_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here"
}
}
}
}
You can get an API key from the Rijksmuseum API Portal.
npm install
cp .env.example .env
.env file:
RIJKSMUSEUM_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
{
"mcpServers": {
"rijksmuseum-server": {
"command": "node",
"args": [
"/path/to/rijksmuseum-server/build/index.js"
],
"env": {
"RIJKSMUSEUM_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here"
}
}
}
}
Make sure to:
/path/to/rijksmuseum-server with the actual path to your installationenv sectionAfter updating the configuration, restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect.
The server can be configured through environment variables:
RIJKSMUSEUM_API_KEY: Your Rijksmuseum API key (required)PORT: Server port (default: 3000)LOG_LEVEL: Logging level (default: 'info')For detailed information about the Rijksmuseum API endpoints used by this server, visit: Rijksmuseum API Documentation
Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit pull requests or create issues for bugs and feature requests.
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
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{
"mcpServers": {
"rijksmuseum-server": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"mcp-server-rijksmuseum"
],
"env": {
"RIJKSMUSEUM_API_KEY": "<YOUR_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}claude mcp add rijksmuseum-server npx -y mcp-server-rijksmuseumExplore related MCPs that share similar capabilities and solve comparable challenges
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