The Dutch and Swedish monarchs pose in front of Rembrandt's "The Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis" at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, a place where questions about how and why the past seems to repeat itself abound. (Martijn Beekman/AFP/Getty Images)

A recent visit to Amsterdam's extraordinary Rijksmuseum opened floodgates of questions for me about how and why the past repeats itself, particularly in its butchery. Does the might of the mighty make right? Or are the valiant efforts for freedom worth collateral excesses of cruelty? Who decides the fate of the masses? What is fair and what is just? Are our values indeed universal and do we all want the same thing at the end of the day? The Rijksmuseum is alive with these questions as posed by Dutch masters who indulge in historic, epic and fantastical narratives. Click here to continue reading…