.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
The present lot depicts the façades of the tobacco storehouses on the Prinseneiland in Amsterdam, with working horses and carts in the foreground, seen in the direction of the Eilandskerk on the Eilandsgracht. Breitner painted the present work circa 1913 a few years after the prominent dome tower of the Eilandskerk had been taken down in 1910, as the foundation of the tower became fragile due to the busy railway track nearby. The dome tower does appears in early photographs taken by the artist from the same viewpoint. The composition of the present painting was captured on camera by the artist and thus can be dated between 1910 and 1913 (collection Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, inv.no. RP-F-00-5771) (fig. 1). The photograph he used for the present painting was in his private possession until Breitner died in 1923. After his death his collection of nearly 2000 photo-negatives and 300 photographs was moved to the art dealers Frans Buffa & Zonen in Amsterdam. Before it was taken up in the archive of the RKD in The Hague in 1961, it was part of the legacy of J.H.H. Siedenburg, between 1922 and 1937 he was the co-owner of Buffa, the art dealer where Breitner did business with in his last years (see: Roosenboom, 1997). Probably Siedenburg received those photograph from Breitner’s widow Marie Jordan (1866-1948) after he helped Marie with the heritage of the artist. Another important part of the photographs was acquired by the Rijksmuseum by his director Mr. A.F.E. van Schendel in 1948 after Marie’s death (see: Freek Heijbroek, George Hendrik Breitner in Amsterdam, Amsterdam, 2014, p. 16).
Breitner was a master in recording his immediate impressions with a feverish temperament and translating them into paint. His bold brushstrokes became vivid and direct, and the compositions became more daring and confronting. With a few swift lines he indicated the brown coat of the horses. Striking contrasts created by the forms of the stately houses in the background and the lively colourful carts in the street make this painting remarkably impressive. The present painting shows the artist's fascination for using the effects of photography in his art. Several photographs exist of Breitner's hand from the same composition. Breitner’s interest for photography dates from his The Hague period where he wrote to his close friend the artist Herman van der Weele (1852-1930) in 1883: ‘Wees zoo goed en zend p.o. met teekening en uitleg hoe ik een camera kan maken, zooals ik toen bij jou gezien heb’. It has been suggested Breitner’s interest for photography raised when he collaborated with Hendrik Willem Mesdag at the production of the Panorama Mesdag in The Hague in 1881 where Mesdag used photography as a tool to create the Panorama. Unfortunately no photograph of Breitner of the The Hague period are known. During his trip to Paris in 1884 Breitner was again introduced to photography and after this year he started to use photography as a tool in his art. 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 pencil sketches (fig. 2) they formed the basis of his compositions. Critics in general have appreciated the surprisingly honest and rough quality of his photographs.
At the time Breitner painted the present work his studio was based on Prinseneiland in Amsterdam, Prinseneiland number 24b, where he worked from 1898 until 1914. Since Breitner's move from The Hague to Amsterdam in 1886, until his death in 1923, he changed accommodations and studios almost eighteen times, but this would be his last studio. After 1914 Breitner started working out of his home, partly because he thought it was too difficult to keep the studio at the Prinseneiland nicely heated. Breitner himself designed the studio at the Prinseneiland which was built by C.J. Maks, the father of the artist Kees Maks (1876-1967). C.J. Maks made an agreement with Breitner to rent him the apartment for a very reasonably price if Breitner agreed to teach his son, who had a studio at number 24a, for a period of three years. George Hendrik Breitner was at the turn of the century already a well-known artist in the Netherlands, as was demonstrated by a very successful retrospective exhibition at the artist society Arti et Amicitiae in Amsterdam in 1901. From that moment on Breitner belonged to the cultural establishment and could be considered the foremost chronicler of city life. The disregard for detail in favour of colour and impression makes the present lot a good example of Breitner's later work. His bold brushstrokes and his monochrome palette combined with the subject are characteristic for the paintings which were executed in Breitner's years on the Prinseneiland.
A few months after the painting was produced the rich Amsterdam tabacco dealer Jacob Nienhuys (1836-1928) bought the present work at the Kunsthandel E.J. van Wisselingh in Amsterdam. Nienhuys was the founder of the Dutch tobacco cultivation Deli Company (Deli Maatschappij) in 1869 in Sumatra's east coast. In 1870 he returned to the Netherlands and from 1880 until his death he was commissioner for the company in Amsterdam. The depicted location of the tobacco storehouses at the Prinseneiland was a well-known image for him and fitted perfectly into his collection. A few years later the banker Mr. Jan Lodewijk Pierson (1854-1944) bought the present work at the Frederik Muller sale in 1919. He gave the present lot to his daughter Anna Pierson, who had married Gustaaf Jiskoot, a son of the president-commisioner of the important tabacco in Amsterdam. It has been suggested the tobacco storehouses depicted belonged to the Oscar Tohte & Jiskoot company.
We would like to thank Mr. Freek Heybroek for his kind assistance in cataloguing the present lot.
Breitner was a master in recording his immediate impressions with a feverish temperament and translating them into paint. His bold brushstrokes became vivid and direct, and the compositions became more daring and confronting. With a few swift lines he indicated the brown coat of the horses. Striking contrasts created by the forms of the stately houses in the background and the lively colourful carts in the street make this painting remarkably impressive. The present painting shows the artist's fascination for using the effects of photography in his art. Several photographs exist of Breitner's hand from the same composition. Breitner’s interest for photography dates from his The Hague period where he wrote to his close friend the artist Herman van der Weele (1852-1930) in 1883: ‘Wees zoo goed en zend p.o. met teekening en uitleg hoe ik een camera kan maken, zooals ik toen bij jou gezien heb’. It has been suggested Breitner’s interest for photography raised when he collaborated with Hendrik Willem Mesdag at the production of the Panorama Mesdag in The Hague in 1881 where Mesdag used photography as a tool to create the Panorama. Unfortunately no photograph of Breitner of the The Hague period are known. During his trip to Paris in 1884 Breitner was again introduced to photography and after this year he started to use photography as a tool in his art. 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 pencil sketches (fig. 2) they formed the basis of his compositions. Critics in general have appreciated the surprisingly honest and rough quality of his photographs.
At the time Breitner painted the present work his studio was based on Prinseneiland in Amsterdam, Prinseneiland number 24b, where he worked from 1898 until 1914. Since Breitner's move from The Hague to Amsterdam in 1886, until his death in 1923, he changed accommodations and studios almost eighteen times, but this would be his last studio. After 1914 Breitner started working out of his home, partly because he thought it was too difficult to keep the studio at the Prinseneiland nicely heated. Breitner himself designed the studio at the Prinseneiland which was built by C.J. Maks, the father of the artist Kees Maks (1876-1967). C.J. Maks made an agreement with Breitner to rent him the apartment for a very reasonably price if Breitner agreed to teach his son, who had a studio at number 24a, for a period of three years. George Hendrik Breitner was at the turn of the century already a well-known artist in the Netherlands, as was demonstrated by a very successful retrospective exhibition at the artist society Arti et Amicitiae in Amsterdam in 1901. From that moment on Breitner belonged to the cultural establishment and could be considered the foremost chronicler of city life. The disregard for detail in favour of colour and impression makes the present lot a good example of Breitner's later work. His bold brushstrokes and his monochrome palette combined with the subject are characteristic for the paintings which were executed in Breitner's years on the Prinseneiland.
A few months after the painting was produced the rich Amsterdam tabacco dealer Jacob Nienhuys (1836-1928) bought the present work at the Kunsthandel E.J. van Wisselingh in Amsterdam. Nienhuys was the founder of the Dutch tobacco cultivation Deli Company (Deli Maatschappij) in 1869 in Sumatra's east coast. In 1870 he returned to the Netherlands and from 1880 until his death he was commissioner for the company in Amsterdam. The depicted location of the tobacco storehouses at the Prinseneiland was a well-known image for him and fitted perfectly into his collection. A few years later the banker Mr. Jan Lodewijk Pierson (1854-1944) bought the present work at the Frederik Muller sale in 1919. He gave the present lot to his daughter Anna Pierson, who had married Gustaaf Jiskoot, a son of the president-commisioner of the important tabacco in Amsterdam. It has been suggested the tobacco storehouses depicted belonged to the Oscar Tohte & Jiskoot company.
We would like to thank Mr. Freek Heybroek for his kind assistance in cataloguing the present lot.