Gezicht op de Nieuwe Teertuinen te Amsterdam c. 1900 - 1901

This charcoal drawing of the Nieuwe Teertuinen in Amsterdam was made by George Hendrik Breitner, an artist working in the Netherlands in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Breitner belonged to a generation of artists who turned away from romantic depictions of nature and history, and instead focused on the gritty reality of modern urban life. As Amsterdam rapidly industrialized and expanded, the Nieuwe Teertuinen, or New Tar Yards, was a site of constant change and activity. Here, Breitner captures a sense of the impermanence and alienation that came with this new era. The bare trees and rough sketches suggest a landscape stripped of its traditional beauty, mirroring the experience of those who found themselves displaced and marginalized by progress. Breitner, who said he was, "fascinated by the rabble," often depicted working-class subjects and the emotional weight of their everyday lives. This work offers a glimpse into a society grappling with the costs of modernization, inviting us to reflect on the human stories behind urban development.