De Barber Straat te Amsterdam 1870 - 1926

Willem Wenckebach rendered this view of the Barber Street in Amsterdam using ink on paper. The medium itself— humble and commonplace—allows for incredibly fine detail. Look at the hatching that creates the depth of the alleyway, and the clouds rendered with such delicate line work. The texture of the brick, the precisely drawn windows: these all show the hand of a skilled draughtsman. Although paper and ink are not particularly associated with social commentary, consider the scene Wenckebach has chosen to depict. Rather than a grand boulevard or monument, he shows us a narrow street, hemmed in by tall buildings. We get a strong sense of enclosure, of urban density. Think of the labor required to build the structures, and the many lives lived within them. This artwork is a reminder that even the simplest of materials, when combined with skill and vision, can offer profound insight into the human condition.