WILLEM WITSEN

1860 – Amsterdam – 1923

VIEW OF THE OUDE SCHANS WITH THE MONTELBAANSTOREN

watercolor on paper, 510 x 730 mm

signed lower left: Willem Witsen

date: 1890-1912

provenance:

with E.J. Wisselingh & Co., Amsterdam, 1912;

private collection, the Netherlands;

sold by auction house, Mak van Waay, Amsterdam, 25 November 1970s? lot 403;

with E.J. Wisselingh & Co., Amsterdam, 1970’s;

private collection, the Netherlands, acquired from the above.

exhibited:

The Hague, Pulchi Studio, E.J. van Wisselingh & Co Jubileumtentoonstelling, June-July 1912.

Amsterdam, Gemeentearchief Amsterdam, Willem Witsen en Amsterdam, August 15th- November 16th 2003, ex catalogue.

The Montelbaanstoren functions as a silent witness within the composition, presenting Amsterdam as a place of beauty, tranquility, and introspective stillness. The viewer’s gaze is guided along the architectural lines or across the water toward the centrally positioned horizon. The expansive surface of the water and the overcast sky dominate the pictorial field and suppress any sense of urban activity. Human figures and boats are rendered small and unobtrusive, reinforcing the calm rhythm of the scene. Few artists have depicted Amsterdam with such poetic sensitivity as the Amsterdam-born Willem Witsen, whose restrained color palette and balanced composition emphasize atmosphere over narrative or detail.

Water plays a central compositional and thematic role in Witsen’s cityscapes. Amsterdam’s identity is inseparable from its waterways, which structure both the physical city and the visual experience of it. In this work, the water acts as an intermediary space between architecture and sky, dissolving solid forms through reflection and softening the boundaries between elements. Its slow, almost motionless surface contributes to the impression of suspended time. Witsen portrayed the city not as a dense urban environment, but focused on the harmonious interplay of tonal values and reflections.

Within a Symbolist framework, water functions in Witsen’s work not merely as a physical element, but as a carrier of emotion and meaning. Its reflective quality evokes introspection, while its stillness suggests silence and solitude. The small scale of the human figures in relation to their surroundings emphasizes human vulnerability and insignificance within a vast, melancholic world. This aligns with both Symbolist ideals and the broader existential undercurrents present in avant-garde art around the turn of the nineteenth century. The overall atmosphere—muted, introspective, and contemplative—transcends topographical depiction and becomes an expression of an inner psychological state characteristic of Witsen’s oeuvre.

Witsen selected the motifs for his cityscapes of the capital with great care. Contemporary architectural projects that embodied the progress of the Industrial Revolution—such as the Paleis voor Volksvlijt—held little appeal for him. Instead, Witsen often drew inspiration from historic structures dating to Amsterdam’s period of prosperity and cultural ascendancy. 

The Montelbaanstoren constitutes a significant and recurring motif within Witsen’s oeuvre. A remnant of Amsterdam’s sixteenth-century city walls, the tower acquired its distinctive Renaissance-style superstructure in the seventeenth century. Situated along the water, it is visible from multiple vantage points and across varying distances, contributing to its strong presence within the urban landscape.

In 1887, Witsen had a direct vis-à-vis view of the Montelbaanstoren from the window of his studio at Oude Schans 5, which he had taken over from George Breitner. This close proximity allowed the artist to observe the tower repeatedly under varying light and atmospheric conditions, reinforcing its function as both a visual anchor and a recurring subject in his oeuvre.

The composition of this watercolor, however, differs significantly from the view presenting itself fromWitsen’s studio. The city is shown from an alternative perspective: the artist’s former studio would have been situated far to the left, outside the pictorial frame. This suggests that Witsen did not depict the scene from land, but rather from the water—an interpretation supported by the fact that he used a boat as a studio for several years.

It is an intriguing coincidence that another renowned painter who worked from a boat—Claude Monet—also depicted the Montelbaanstoren during his visit to Amsterdam in 1874. While their artistic approaches differ significantly, both artists shared an interest in the atmosphere, reflections on the water, and the transient effects of light when depicting the tower. 

Fig. 1 Willem Witsen at work in his boat.  The photograph was taken by George Hendrik Breitner.

Willem Witsen was a Dutch painter, printmaker, photographer, and writer who forged a highly personal artistic position between tradition and innovation. He belonged to a remarkably talented generation of Amsterdam-based artists now known as De Tachtigers (“The Eighties Movement”), a loosely affiliated group of artists and writers who, during the 1880s, sought renewal and individuality in art and literature. Inspired by French artists who embraced l’art pour l’art, they consciously broke with the internationally successful Dutch painting tradition of the Hague School.

Among Witsen’s Dutch contemporaries were Isaac Israels and George Hendrik Breitner, who explored the possibilities of Impressionism through dynamic compositions and a characteristically loose brushstroke. Witsen, by contrast, developed a restrained and introspective style in which the expression of inner feeling took precedence. Although he, too, was inspired by modern urban life, his work resists anecdote and narrative. Instead, it is defined by a contemplative atmosphere—a world of silence, subdued light, and controlled emotion. In this regard, his art stands in deliberate contrast to the visual dynamism of modern city life so vividly articulated in the colorful works of the Impressionists. 

Born into a wealthy family in Amsterdam, Witsen studied at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in his hometown. He was strongly influenced by Symbolism, yet his work remained marked by restraint and melancholy, favoring quiet, contemplative subjects over overt symbolism or allegory. In addition to painting, he produced still lifes, portraits, and etchings, and was an early pioneer in photography. In his photographic and graphic work, he employed the camera as a compositional instrument, frequently using contrasts of light and shadow to generate a dreamlike, introspective mood. Much of his oeuvre can be understood as a silent meditation on transience and stillness.

Over the course of his career, Witsen received substantial international recognition for his work. Notable distinctions include a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900, a gold medal at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis in 1904, and a gold medal at the Kunstausstellung in Munich in 1913, as well as an award at the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915. Witsen received this latter honor in person and, during his visit to North America, traveled with his wife to Montreal, New Brunswick, Boston, and New York.

Beyond his artistic production, Witsen played a significant role in the cultural life of his time. He maintained close friendships with writers such as Lodewijk van Deyssel, Willem Kloos, and Albert Verwey, and engaged in extensive correspondence with them. His home on the Oosterpark in Amsterdam functioned as an important meeting place for artists and intellectuals. Although Witsen died in 1923, his work continues to be valued for its poetic and introspective qualities, securing him a distinctive position within the Dutch Symbolist tradition.

Fig. 2 The watercolor is show at the lower right at the E.J. van Wisselingh & Co Anniversary Exhibition at Pulchi Studio in The Hague in 1912.