Loading

Construction Site in Amsterdam

George Hendrik Breitnerc. 1902

The Cleveland Museum of Art

The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States

A leader of the Dutch Impressionists, Breitner based this painting on a series of photographs he took of a construction site in Amsterdam. Although seemingly executed rapidly on site, the painting was in fact carefully composed in the studio. Aided by his own photographs and sketches, Breitner portrayed a city in transition. Like his friend Vincent van Gogh, Breitner admired naturalist literature and was determined to become a “painter of the people.”

Show lessRead more
Download this artwork (provided by The Cleveland Museum of Art).
Learn more about this artwork.
  • Title: Construction Site in Amsterdam
  • Creator: George Hendrik Breitner (Dutch, 1857-1923)
  • Date Created: c. 1902
  • Physical Dimensions: Framed: 80 x 100 x 8.6 cm (31 1/2 x 39 3/8 x 3 3/8 in.); Unframed: 60.5 x 80.7 cm (23 13/16 x 31 3/4 in.)
  • Provenance: E. J. van Wisselingh & Co., Amsterdam in 1902. Sold to A. Prins, Amsterdam/Hamburg, 31 May 1902, for Dfl 2.000. (Arij Prins [1860-1922] was a Dutch man of letters and a close friend of Breitner with whom he corresponded, and who lived in Hamburg from 1885 to 1905. Breitner's account book, which is in the Breitner Archive at the rkd in The Hague, lists the name of Arij Prins as the purchaser of the painting for Fl. 2.000. There is also a list of his works sold through the dealer van Wisselingh; there W. Prins, Hamburg, is mentioned as the purchaser of this work. W. is most likely a brother of Arij.) A. Terwindt. M. P. Voûte, Amsterdam, by 1922. Dr. W. L. Ladenius, Haarlem. Amsterdam sale, F. Muller & Co., 15-22 December 1942 (lot 129), Doorbraak Raadhuisstraat in den Winter, signed, canvas, 60.5 x 81 cm, repr., for Dfl 2.200. Amsterdam sale, Sotheby Mak van Waay, 15 May 1984 (lot 175), repr., for Dfl 47.560, to E. J. van Wisselingh & Co., Amsterdam. Purchased by the CMA in 1985.
  • Type: Painting
  • Rights: CC0
  • External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1985.145
  • Medium: oil on fabric
  • Inscriptions: Signed bottom left corner: G. H. Breitner
  • Department: Modern European Painting and Sculpture
  • Culture: Netherlands, 19th century
  • Credit Line: Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
  • Collection: Mod Euro - Painting 1800-1960
  • Accession Number: 1985.145
The Cleveland Museum of Art

Get the app

Explore museums and play with Art Transfer, Pocket Galleries, Art Selfie, and more

Home
Discover
Play
Nearby
Favorites