Hoofdpostkantoor te Amsterdam 1905 - 1940

This undated image, ‘Hoofdpostkantoor te Amsterdam,’ is by an anonymous artist. It depicts the main post office in Amsterdam, a building which looks impossibly grand! The palette here has a gorgeous subtlety, a kind of pale light. It's like the artist found the exact right recipe for that Northern light, the light that gives Amsterdam its atmosphere. I imagine the artist outside, their hand trembling slightly in the cold. The paint is thin and watery, as if the artist wanted to capture the ethereal quality of light reflecting on stone. Just look at the way the artist rendered the intricate details of the building’s architecture, each line drawn with precision, yet imbued with feeling! You can almost see the artist’s breath fogging in the air as they meticulously add each window, each turret, each tiny detail that brings this majestic structure to life. It reminds me of the work of other painters who have been captivated by architecture and its relationship to the human experience, like Charles Demuth, for example. Artists are always in dialogue, you know. The post office looms, a symbol of permanence against the fleeting moments of everyday life.