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Lot Essay
The present lot can be regarded as an outstanding example of the work on which Breitners fame is based. It depicts the snowy bridge over the Singel into the Paleisstraat in Amsterdam with a few young servant-girls and children having a snowball fight. The bridge is seen from the Hartenstraat in the direction of the Paleisstraat. Breitner painted this panel in 1898 at the age of 40. At that time, his studio was on the Lauriergracht, near the corner of the Singel and the Paleisstraat. From the early nineties up to 1899 - when Breitner moved to a new studio on the Prinseneiland - he made numerous photographs, sketches and paintings of that lively spot in the centre of Amsterdam. It was the beauty of the old Amsterdam canalhouses in combination with the teaming figures on the Singelbridge that made this bustling city spot one of his favourites. Breitner painted this bridge various times, of which the painting 'Singelbrug bij de Paleisstraat' from the collection of the Rijksmuseum is without doubt the most famous (fig. 7). Both pictures depict winter times and share the exact same point of view. In contrast to the before mentioned painting which is dominated by the elegant lady with black veil in the foreground, the present lot is dominated by the dynamic figure throwing snowballs in the foreground.
When Breitner arrived in Amsterdam in 1886 he had already gained a formidable reputation with his military scenes depicting the manoeuvres of the artillery and the exercises of cavalerists he had witnessed in Scheveningen, Brabant and Arnhem. Around that time he had already expressed his wish to become a socially engaged painter and regularly set out to draw in the working-class quarter of The Hague. In a letter to his patron A.P. van Stolk, dating from 1882, Breitner stated: "Ikzelf, ik zal de mensch schilderen op de straat en in de huizen die ze gebouwd hebben, 't leven vooral. Le peintre du peuple zal ik trachten te worden..." (see: V. Hefting, G.H.Breitner in zijn Haagse Tijd, Utrecht 1970, p. 9). Amsterdam, with its half million inhabitants, new infrastructure and impressive building projects, provided the artist with an inspiring range of everyday life subject-matter. Roaming through the streets with his sketchbook and camera, Breitner recorded labourers at work on building-sites, young maids hurrying along the canals, horse-tram drivers, skippers on barges, workmen with dray-carts and in between it all the playing children.
In 1898 Breitner was at the height of his career and had already won various medals at exhibitions. In 1895 he was appointed Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau and Knight of the Leopoldsorder. During the last years of the 19th century his work evolved and became more daring and confronting. Breitner was a master of recording his immediate impressions with a feverish temperament and translating them into paint. His bold brushstrokes became vivid and direct, and the compostions became more daring and confronting. With a few swift lines he indicated the aprons worn by the girls. Striking contrasts created by the forms of the static houses in the background and the lively figures combine to make this painting remarkably impressive. Breitner strikingly suggests the exuberant atmosphere which swirls in the city just after the snow has fallen, thereby drawing the viewers attention directly to the abundance of figures and conveying the intended atmosphere.
In the present lot, where technique and subject-matter blend so perfectly, one finds a vivid example of the style generated by the Amsterdam Impressionists, of which Breitner together with Isaac Israels and Willem Witsen were the instigators. It also shows the artist's fascination for using the effects of photography in his art. Breitner had started to use photography as a tool in his art around 1889. He developed his photos himself and certainly did not intend to exhibit them as works of art, they were just part of his preparations. Breitner did not copy his photos in his paintings in detail. Together with his pencil sketches they formed the basis of his compositions. Critics in general have appreciated the surprisingly honest and rough quality of his photographs. Breitner rarely expressed himself about his photography and the relation to his paintings. He probably feared the scorn of contemporary critics. In 1898 Breitner wrote in a letter to K. Groesbeek - the manager of the well-known art dealers E.J. van Wisselingh - regarding the usage of photography in his work: "Amice, Ik kan er niets aan doen wat Preyer gelieft te vertellen, vooral als ook nog waarheid spreekt. Buitendien ik gebruik wel degelijk photo's. Het is niet mogelijk dergelijke dingen te maken zonder hulp van photos. Hoe wil je dat ik een Amsterdamsche straat maak. Ik maak krabbeltjes in mijn schetsboek. Als het kan een studie uit een raam. En een schets voor de details maar de keus. De compositie is toch van mij." (see: A. Venema, op.cit., p. 171).
Not only the subject matter, but also the bright colouring, the perfectly balanced composition and its excellent state of conservation, make this panel an exceptional painting, which may undoubtedly be seen as a masterpiece within the oeuvre of George Hendrik Breitner.
Fig. 1: Singelbrug near the Paleisstraat before 1894. Photograph by G.H. Breitner.
Fig. 2: Paleisstraat, circa 1895. Preparatory drawing. Sketckbook Rijksprentenkabinet, Amsterdam.
Fig. 3.: Idem.
Fig. 4: Detail of the present lot.
Fig. 5: Labels on the reverse
Fig. 6: Winter on the Brouwersgracht near the bridge to the Prinsengracht, after 1898. Photograph by G.H. Breitner.
Fig. 7: Singelbridge near the Paleisstraat (1896), oil on canvas, 100 x 152 cm. (Collection Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam)
Fig. 8: Detail of the present lot.
When Breitner arrived in Amsterdam in 1886 he had already gained a formidable reputation with his military scenes depicting the manoeuvres of the artillery and the exercises of cavalerists he had witnessed in Scheveningen, Brabant and Arnhem. Around that time he had already expressed his wish to become a socially engaged painter and regularly set out to draw in the working-class quarter of The Hague. In a letter to his patron A.P. van Stolk, dating from 1882, Breitner stated: "Ikzelf, ik zal de mensch schilderen op de straat en in de huizen die ze gebouwd hebben, 't leven vooral. Le peintre du peuple zal ik trachten te worden..." (see: V. Hefting, G.H.Breitner in zijn Haagse Tijd, Utrecht 1970, p. 9). Amsterdam, with its half million inhabitants, new infrastructure and impressive building projects, provided the artist with an inspiring range of everyday life subject-matter. Roaming through the streets with his sketchbook and camera, Breitner recorded labourers at work on building-sites, young maids hurrying along the canals, horse-tram drivers, skippers on barges, workmen with dray-carts and in between it all the playing children.
In 1898 Breitner was at the height of his career and had already won various medals at exhibitions. In 1895 he was appointed Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau and Knight of the Leopoldsorder. During the last years of the 19th century his work evolved and became more daring and confronting. Breitner was a master of recording his immediate impressions with a feverish temperament and translating them into paint. His bold brushstrokes became vivid and direct, and the compostions became more daring and confronting. With a few swift lines he indicated the aprons worn by the girls. Striking contrasts created by the forms of the static houses in the background and the lively figures combine to make this painting remarkably impressive. Breitner strikingly suggests the exuberant atmosphere which swirls in the city just after the snow has fallen, thereby drawing the viewers attention directly to the abundance of figures and conveying the intended atmosphere.
In the present lot, where technique and subject-matter blend so perfectly, one finds a vivid example of the style generated by the Amsterdam Impressionists, of which Breitner together with Isaac Israels and Willem Witsen were the instigators. It also shows the artist's fascination for using the effects of photography in his art. Breitner had started to use photography as a tool in his art around 1889. He developed his photos himself and certainly did not intend to exhibit them as works of art, they were just part of his preparations. Breitner did not copy his photos in his paintings in detail. Together with his pencil sketches they formed the basis of his compositions. Critics in general have appreciated the surprisingly honest and rough quality of his photographs. Breitner rarely expressed himself about his photography and the relation to his paintings. He probably feared the scorn of contemporary critics. In 1898 Breitner wrote in a letter to K. Groesbeek - the manager of the well-known art dealers E.J. van Wisselingh - regarding the usage of photography in his work: "Amice, Ik kan er niets aan doen wat Preyer gelieft te vertellen, vooral als ook nog waarheid spreekt. Buitendien ik gebruik wel degelijk photo's. Het is niet mogelijk dergelijke dingen te maken zonder hulp van photos. Hoe wil je dat ik een Amsterdamsche straat maak. Ik maak krabbeltjes in mijn schetsboek. Als het kan een studie uit een raam. En een schets voor de details maar de keus. De compositie is toch van mij." (see: A. Venema, op.cit., p. 171).
Not only the subject matter, but also the bright colouring, the perfectly balanced composition and its excellent state of conservation, make this panel an exceptional painting, which may undoubtedly be seen as a masterpiece within the oeuvre of George Hendrik Breitner.
Fig. 1: Singelbrug near the Paleisstraat before 1894. Photograph by G.H. Breitner.
Fig. 2: Paleisstraat, circa 1895. Preparatory drawing. Sketckbook Rijksprentenkabinet, Amsterdam.
Fig. 3.: Idem.
Fig. 4: Detail of the present lot.
Fig. 5: Labels on the reverse
Fig. 6: Winter on the Brouwersgracht near the bridge to the Prinsengracht, after 1898. Photograph by G.H. Breitner.
Fig. 7: Singelbridge near the Paleisstraat (1896), oil on canvas, 100 x 152 cm. (Collection Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam)
Fig. 8: Detail of the present lot.