De Wolvenstraat 1867 - 1923

George Hendrik Breitner made this sketch of the Wolvenstraat in Amsterdam with pencil on paper. Breitner was part of a group of artists known as the Amsterdam Impressionists, who aimed to capture everyday life in the city. Here, in a few scribbled strokes, we see what it was like to walk along the canal, among the buildings and people of 19th century Amsterdam. The loose style reflects the social and political changes that were taking place. The Netherlands, traditionally a seafaring, trading nation, was becoming an industrial power. Artists like Breitner were turning away from traditional academic painting, with its emphasis on historical and mythological subjects, and attempting to represent the here and now. As historians, we can look at the sketch in relation to other images of the city and use sources such as newspapers, city records, and personal letters to build up a more complete picture of the social conditions that shaped the artist’s vision. Art is always contingent on these kinds of contexts.