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拍品专文
George Hendrik Breitner was educated in both The Hague and Amsterdam and was an apprentice in the studio of Willem Maris (1844-1910), one of the leading painters of the Haagse School. After permanently settling in Amsterdam in 1886, Breitner was often found roaming the city centre, and the Rokin in Amsterdam would become a recurring theme in his oeuvre. The Rokin was one of the main traffic arteries in town, leading towards the Dam, the heart of the trade and commerce in the expanding city. The Rokin also housed the gallery Van Wisselingh & Co. which represented his work, also situated in this area was his artist's society 'Arti et Amicitiae'.
The present lot is an outstanding and typical example of Amsterdam School impressionism, of which Breitner was the pioneer, and with its balanced composition, its subtle harmony of greyish tones and form and its superb brushwork it displays the characteristic tension between inpressionism and expression for which Breitner is so highly appreciated. The picture captures the passing of a horse-drawn cart on the Rokin towards the Beurspoortje and the Dam on a grey day. Breitner brilliantly translates a swiftly passing ordinary moment of street activity in a beautiful painterly unity of colour and form. The snapshot character of the scene reveals Breitner used a photo as the basis for his composition. The present lot engages us in congealed moments of activity of common people, in line with what Breitner had formulated as his ambition in a letter from 28 March 1882 to his benefactor A.P. van Stolk: 'Ik zelf, ik zal de mensch schilderen op de straat en in de huizen, de straten en huizen, die ze gebouwd hebben, 't leven vooral. Le Peintre du Peuple zal ik trachten te worden of liever ben ik al, omdat ik het wil. Geschiedenis wilde ik schilderen en zal ik ook, maar de geschiedenis in haar uitgebreidsten zin. Een markt, een kaai, den rivier, een bende soldaten onder de gloeiende zon.'.
Breitner's city views of Amsterdam are the visualisation of this ambition. Here, strolling through the streets, he felt at his best, surrounded by a constant flow of new impressions, which were all suited to his restless character. His contract with E.J. van Wisselingh & Co. gave the gallery the exclusive right to exhibit and sell his work. His cityscapes of Amsterdam - such as the present lot - were highly sought after and people flocked to buy these pieces. Van Wisselingh's clients were mostly private collectors, among them the pioneers of Modern Art collecting in the Netherlands.
The present lot is an outstanding and typical example of Amsterdam School impressionism, of which Breitner was the pioneer, and with its balanced composition, its subtle harmony of greyish tones and form and its superb brushwork it displays the characteristic tension between inpressionism and expression for which Breitner is so highly appreciated. The picture captures the passing of a horse-drawn cart on the Rokin towards the Beurspoortje and the Dam on a grey day. Breitner brilliantly translates a swiftly passing ordinary moment of street activity in a beautiful painterly unity of colour and form. The snapshot character of the scene reveals Breitner used a photo as the basis for his composition. The present lot engages us in congealed moments of activity of common people, in line with what Breitner had formulated as his ambition in a letter from 28 March 1882 to his benefactor A.P. van Stolk: 'Ik zelf, ik zal de mensch schilderen op de straat en in de huizen, de straten en huizen, die ze gebouwd hebben, 't leven vooral. Le Peintre du Peuple zal ik trachten te worden of liever ben ik al, omdat ik het wil. Geschiedenis wilde ik schilderen en zal ik ook, maar de geschiedenis in haar uitgebreidsten zin. Een markt, een kaai, den rivier, een bende soldaten onder de gloeiende zon.'.
Breitner's city views of Amsterdam are the visualisation of this ambition. Here, strolling through the streets, he felt at his best, surrounded by a constant flow of new impressions, which were all suited to his restless character. His contract with E.J. van Wisselingh & Co. gave the gallery the exclusive right to exhibit and sell his work. His cityscapes of Amsterdam - such as the present lot - were highly sought after and people flocked to buy these pieces. Van Wisselingh's clients were mostly private collectors, among them the pioneers of Modern Art collecting in the Netherlands.