Lot Essay
Willem Witsen, also known as the 'painter of Amsterdam', was born into an old Amsterdam patrician family as the youngest of six children. Brought up in an art-loving environment, Witsen entered the Rijksacademie in Amsterdam in 1876 and proved himself to be a man of many talents. During his study at the Rijksacademie, which officially lasted till 1884, Witsen befriended a group of young artists who presented themselves as a cultural elite and drew attention to their spontaneous and above all individualstic impressions of urban life. Determined to give artistry a more contemporary stature, Witsen and his fellow art students unfolded several activities such as the founding of the artist's society St. Lucas in 1881 and that of the 'Nederlandse Etsclub' in 1885. Witsen also joined the literary society Flanor and played an important part in the development of the literary movement called 'De beweging van Tachtig'. The artist's studio at the Oosterpark 82, which houses a museum these days, became a central meeting place for the painters and writers who influenced the Amsterdam art world at the end of the nineteenth century. Willem Kloos, Herman Gorter, Jan Toorop, Isaac Israels and George Hendrik Breitner were among those who regularly visited the Oosterpark. Unlike Breitner, who only made photographes for preparatory purposes, Witsen used his camera to eternalize these intellectual gatherings.
Initially trying his hand at portraits and figure studies as a student, Witsen became fascinated with the city as subject-matter during a sojourn in London from 1888 till 1891 : "er is altijd zóo veel op te merken" (J.F. Heijbroek, 'Impressies uit de 'reuzestad'; het verblijf van Willem Witsen in London (1888-1891)", in: F.W. Kuijper a.o., Liber amicorum A.G. van der Steur, Haarlem 1988, pp. 61-97). A rare genre uptill then, townviews dominated Witsen's work more and more and eventually developped into the artist's favorite and above all principal motive. His solemn impressions of Amsterdam finally establishing his reputation as one of the main Dutch painters of town views of the late nineteenth century. As opposed to fellow artists such as Isaac Israels and George Hendrik Breitner who aimed at recording the dynamics of a big city in their work, Witsen focussed on portraying it's serene and silent nature. Stripped of anecdotal details and covered in a gloomy haze, the artist's calculated compositions of canals, bridges, ships and houses resemble icons of a town where time stood still : "Witsen voelde zich in zijn keuze van onderwerpen aangetrokken tot die delen van de stad waar de glorie van het verleden uit destille wateren nog oprijst en op de oude gevels beklijft" (N. van Harpen, op.cit., Amsterdam 1924, p. 20).
The present lot depicts the Oude Schans in winter with barges along the quay and houses in the background. Witsen moved into Breitner's studio on the Oude Schans 5 in 1887 and obtained his own studio boat there in 1911. In a letter to Philippe Zilcken dating from 1903, Witsen already expresses his wish to work on such a mobile studio : "Amice, ik zou niets liever willen dan mij dadelijk zoo'n motor-drijvend atelier aanschaffen...- het lijkt mij een kostelijke uitvinding en ik feliciteer je met je voorlopige succes" (I.M. de Groot, Willem Witsen en zijn drijvend atelier, Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 38 (1990), p. 359). In France, painters such as Daubigny and Monet had already been studying their subject-matter from the water for some time. W.B. Tholen, W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp and C.N. Storm van's Gravesande were amongst the Dutch painters who set out to work in this way.
With financial help from Van Wisselingh & Co's Mr. Groesbeek and Mr. Bloemkolk, Witsen eventually aquired a boat and was given the possibility to capture impressions directly surrounding him : "Verder heb 'k laten maken een houten keet waarin gestookt kan worden en die op'n zolderschuit, me gelegenheid geeft, als drijvend atelier, om den heelen winter studies buiten te schilderen" (I.M. de Groot, op.cit., p. 359). The present lot vividly demonstrates both Witsen's preferance for a low point of view as his tendancy to zoom into his subject-matter. Traits which accentuate the solitude of a cold winter day and add a symbolic quality to the image. Most of all, the lot on offer exemplifies Witsen's mastery in rhyming soft forms with a subdued colour palet consisting primarily of brown, grey and blue.
See colour illustration
Initially trying his hand at portraits and figure studies as a student, Witsen became fascinated with the city as subject-matter during a sojourn in London from 1888 till 1891 : "er is altijd zóo veel op te merken" (J.F. Heijbroek, 'Impressies uit de 'reuzestad'; het verblijf van Willem Witsen in London (1888-1891)", in: F.W. Kuijper a.o., Liber amicorum A.G. van der Steur, Haarlem 1988, pp. 61-97). A rare genre uptill then, townviews dominated Witsen's work more and more and eventually developped into the artist's favorite and above all principal motive. His solemn impressions of Amsterdam finally establishing his reputation as one of the main Dutch painters of town views of the late nineteenth century. As opposed to fellow artists such as Isaac Israels and George Hendrik Breitner who aimed at recording the dynamics of a big city in their work, Witsen focussed on portraying it's serene and silent nature. Stripped of anecdotal details and covered in a gloomy haze, the artist's calculated compositions of canals, bridges, ships and houses resemble icons of a town where time stood still : "Witsen voelde zich in zijn keuze van onderwerpen aangetrokken tot die delen van de stad waar de glorie van het verleden uit destille wateren nog oprijst en op de oude gevels beklijft" (N. van Harpen, op.cit., Amsterdam 1924, p. 20).
The present lot depicts the Oude Schans in winter with barges along the quay and houses in the background. Witsen moved into Breitner's studio on the Oude Schans 5 in 1887 and obtained his own studio boat there in 1911. In a letter to Philippe Zilcken dating from 1903, Witsen already expresses his wish to work on such a mobile studio : "Amice, ik zou niets liever willen dan mij dadelijk zoo'n motor-drijvend atelier aanschaffen...- het lijkt mij een kostelijke uitvinding en ik feliciteer je met je voorlopige succes" (I.M. de Groot, Willem Witsen en zijn drijvend atelier, Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 38 (1990), p. 359). In France, painters such as Daubigny and Monet had already been studying their subject-matter from the water for some time. W.B. Tholen, W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp and C.N. Storm van's Gravesande were amongst the Dutch painters who set out to work in this way.
With financial help from Van Wisselingh & Co's Mr. Groesbeek and Mr. Bloemkolk, Witsen eventually aquired a boat and was given the possibility to capture impressions directly surrounding him : "Verder heb 'k laten maken een houten keet waarin gestookt kan worden en die op'n zolderschuit, me gelegenheid geeft, als drijvend atelier, om den heelen winter studies buiten te schilderen" (I.M. de Groot, op.cit., p. 359). The present lot vividly demonstrates both Witsen's preferance for a low point of view as his tendancy to zoom into his subject-matter. Traits which accentuate the solitude of a cold winter day and add a symbolic quality to the image. Most of all, the lot on offer exemplifies Witsen's mastery in rhyming soft forms with a subdued colour palet consisting primarily of brown, grey and blue.
See colour illustration