The Shop of the Bookdealer Pieter Meijer Warnars on the Vijgendam in Amsterdam by Johannes Jelgerhuis

The Shop of the Bookdealer Pieter Meijer Warnars on the Vijgendam in Amsterdam 1820

architectural sketch

surveyor photography

architectural and planning render

building study

toned paper

architectural modelling rendering

street view

architectural drawing

architecture drawing

warm toned green

Johannes Jelgerhuis's "The Shop of the Bookdealer Pieter Meijer Warnars on the Vijgendam in Amsterdam" (1820), now located at the Rijksmuseum, showcases a detailed and realistic interior view of a bustling book shop in Amsterdam. The painting captures a moment in the shop's daily routine, with customers browsing and a clerk assisting a man at the counter. The scene is filled with books, furniture, and even a glimpse of the Vijgendam street outside, emphasizing the vibrancy of Amsterdam's cultural life during this period. The painting is a fascinating window into the world of 19th-century bookselling, highlighting the importance of literacy and the role of bookshops as social hubs in Amsterdam.

Comments

rijksmuseum over 1 year ago

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Amsterdam’s cultural elite met up in this book and print shop. Warnars, the owner, was a bookdealer, publisher and printer. These activities are reflected in the full bookcases, the hanging banner, new reams of paper and the printing press on the floor. The painter of this scene, Johannes Jelgerhuis, was also a noted actor. The pronounced perspective of the shop interior makes it look like a stage set with a city view as a backdrop.