Interieur van het Paleis voor Volksvlijt te Amsterdam 1863 - 1866

This interior view of the Paleis voor Volksvlijt in Amsterdam was made with pencil and watercolor by Isaac Gosschalk. The pale washes and delicate lines give a sense of the vast scale of the iron and glass structure. This building, completed in 1864, was the largest iron-and-glass building at the time, built to promote industry, innovation, and the international exchange of goods. This drawing then, depicts a temple to nineteenth-century industrial processes. The building itself reflected the social context of its time, with cast iron supports that referenced classical architecture, yet were made by laborers in industrial factories. In turn, Gosschalk’s drawing highlights the social dimensions of both the building and the labor practices that made it possible. By focusing our attention on the materials, making, and context of this image and the depicted building, we can understand the wider social implications behind the artwork.