A cyclist on the Prinsengracht.
Starting from the 1890s, the famous Dutch impressionist painter George Hendrik Breitner (1857 – 1923) used his camera to record the everyday life in the streets of Amsterdam.
He found photographs to be a useful tool for capturing fleeting conditions of street life and atmospheric effects – rainy weather in particular – as reference materials for his paintings.
Breitner was one of the first to explore hand-held cameras, which had only just been introduced. He experimented with perspectives, and photographed into the light, portraying scenes of urban vitality using deliberately blurred images.
The camera he used was Kodak Nr. 1 Box with 100 exposures of film preloaded. The artist only needed to point and pull the wire (pre-shutter button). The winding key at the top enabled selfwinding.
The Kolkje and Oudezijds Achterburgwal.
His large collection of photographic prints and negatives was re-discovered in 1996 and it was clear that Breitner was a talented photographer. Sometimes he made various pictures of the same subject, from different perspectives or in different weather conditions.
Photos sometimes formed the immediate example for a particular painting, for instance the girls in kimono. On other occasions, Breitner used photography for general reference, to capture an atmosphere, a light effect or the weather in the city at a particular moment.
By the turn of the century Breitner was a famous painter in the Netherlands, as demonstrated by a highly successful retrospective exhibition at Arti et Amicitiae in Amsterdam (1901). Breitner travelled frequently in the last decades of his life, visiting Paris, London, and Berlin, among other cities, and continued to take photographs.
Breitner is remembered in a Dutch figure of speech: when the streets are grey and rainy, people of Amsterdam whisper grimly “Echt Breitnerweer” (Typical Breitnerweather).
A view of the Rokin.
During the late-19th century, Amsterdam prospered, and the population increased. The Industrial Revolution was mainly responsible for this development, which prompted an overall economical advancement.
The Amsterdam-Rijn kanaal was dug to give Amsterdam a direct connection to the Rhine and the Noordzee kanaal to give the port a connection with the North Sea. Both projects improved communication with the rest of Europe and the world dramatically. They gave the economy a big boost.
The end of the 19th century is sometimes called Amsterdam’s second Golden Age. New museums, the Centraal Station and the Concertgebouw were built. Also built was the Stelling van Amsterdam, a unique ring of 42 forts and land that could be inundated to defend the city against an attack. Amsterdam’s population grew significantly during this period.
Children play in an alley.
Four young women on the street in the Runstraat.
Workers at the construction site of the Municipal Bath and Swimming Facility at the Heiligeweg.
The intersection of Lindengracht and Lijnbaansgracht.
A street vendor on the Rokin.
View of the Prinsengracht at the bridge over the Leidsegracht.
Workers on the Van Diemenstraat.
A view of the Dam.
Geldersekade and Geldersche quay.
Children play in a sand dump near Prince Island.
A carriage on the Dam.
Blacksmiths work on shoeing a horse.
Waalseilandsgracht seen from the Prince Hendrikkade.
View of the Torensluis Bridge over the Singel Canal.
A snowy view of the Damrak.
A carriage on the Leidseplein.
Children play near the entrance to Breitner’s studio on Prince Island.
A girl crosses a bridge on Prince Island.
Portrait of a woman walking over the Prinsengracht.
View of the Singel on a rainy day.
A woman on the Spui.
A view of the Raadhuisstraat.
The Eenhoornsluis.
View of Gasthuismolensteeg on the corner of the Herengracht.
A cart dog takes a rest.
The Singel Bridge at the Paleisstraat in Amsterdam, George Hendrik Breitner, 1898.
(Photo credit: George Henrik Breitner / Rijksmuseum via Europeana).