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Lot Essay
Before Willem Witsen travelled to London in 1888, his work showed the realistic tendencies so typical of the Dutch art of that period. He and other artists, Jan Pieter Veth and Maurits van der Valk among others, regularly wrote art-reviews in the Dutch literary magazine De Nieuwe Gids. They advocated the 'art for art's sake' theories popular in France and Great Britain. In short these ideas stood for the search for ultimate beauty and sensation.
In practice though, their work was primarily based upon Dutch seventeenth century tradition. Upon moving to London and during his subsequent stay there, Witsen's style of painting changed drastically and became the style that can be found in the present lot. Recurring themes were the English fog and oncoming rainy nights, softening sharp lines and contours of bridges and city. His work was influenced by English aesthetic artists of which James McNeill Whistler can be named as having had the most inpact. Remarkable is the fact that as far as known Witsen never met Whistler, although Whistler did visit Holland in 1889 (while Witsen was in London) at the invitation of the painter etcher Philip Zilcken and dined with Witsen's closest friends.
Besides changing his style of painting, Witsen's choice of subject changed as well. Choosing landscapes and figures while still in Holland, in England he started painting town-views. The Thames and Embankment had a strong appeal on Witsen and were often depicted. In a letter he wrote about London as being: "'n eenheid van donkere grijzen en zacht mooi licht - 'n stemming van ernstige zware mooiheid - niet dor, niet somber, nooit akelig - maar heerlijk rijk en vol en ernstig als zwarte chrysanten en witte, witte bloemen" (cited from a letter by W.A. Witsen to E. van Vloten, 28 November 1890, heirs to the Witsen estate). After returning to The Netherlands his style slowly returned to the realism of before his English sojourn although a quietness persisted in his work as did the preference for town-views regarding his choice of subjectmatter.
The present lot shows Witsen's predeliction for the rainy and foggy weather of London. London Bridge looms while, dark shadowy figures hurry along the embankment. The only dash of real colour comes from the red shirt of the man bent over in the middle of the road. What he is doing there is uncertain. The watercolour had once carried the title Ragpicker near London Bridge but this cannot be traced to any arthistorical source. Looking at the work one could just as easily imagine a gust of wind having blown the man's hat off and might Witsen not have painted him in the process of picking it up?
We would like to thank Mayken Jonkman of the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague, for writing the above catalogue entry. She is currently preparing a thesis on 'The work of Willem Witsen as illustration for the arthistorical theory 'Art for Art's Sake'.
In practice though, their work was primarily based upon Dutch seventeenth century tradition. Upon moving to London and during his subsequent stay there, Witsen's style of painting changed drastically and became the style that can be found in the present lot. Recurring themes were the English fog and oncoming rainy nights, softening sharp lines and contours of bridges and city. His work was influenced by English aesthetic artists of which James McNeill Whistler can be named as having had the most inpact. Remarkable is the fact that as far as known Witsen never met Whistler, although Whistler did visit Holland in 1889 (while Witsen was in London) at the invitation of the painter etcher Philip Zilcken and dined with Witsen's closest friends.
Besides changing his style of painting, Witsen's choice of subject changed as well. Choosing landscapes and figures while still in Holland, in England he started painting town-views. The Thames and Embankment had a strong appeal on Witsen and were often depicted. In a letter he wrote about London as being: "'n eenheid van donkere grijzen en zacht mooi licht - 'n stemming van ernstige zware mooiheid - niet dor, niet somber, nooit akelig - maar heerlijk rijk en vol en ernstig als zwarte chrysanten en witte, witte bloemen" (cited from a letter by W.A. Witsen to E. van Vloten, 28 November 1890, heirs to the Witsen estate). After returning to The Netherlands his style slowly returned to the realism of before his English sojourn although a quietness persisted in his work as did the preference for town-views regarding his choice of subjectmatter.
The present lot shows Witsen's predeliction for the rainy and foggy weather of London. London Bridge looms while, dark shadowy figures hurry along the embankment. The only dash of real colour comes from the red shirt of the man bent over in the middle of the road. What he is doing there is uncertain. The watercolour had once carried the title Ragpicker near London Bridge but this cannot be traced to any arthistorical source. Looking at the work one could just as easily imagine a gust of wind having blown the man's hat off and might Witsen not have painted him in the process of picking it up?
We would like to thank Mayken Jonkman of the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague, for writing the above catalogue entry. She is currently preparing a thesis on 'The work of Willem Witsen as illustration for the arthistorical theory 'Art for Art's Sake'.