The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 27, 2024

Construction Site in Amsterdam

Construction Site in Amsterdam

c. 1902
(Dutch, 1857–1923)
Framed: 80 x 100 x 8.6 cm (31 1/2 x 39 3/8 x 3 3/8 in.); Unframed: 60.5 x 80.7 cm (23 13/16 x 31 3/4 in.)
Location: not on view

Description

A leader of the Dutch Impressionists, Breitner based this painting on a series of photographs he took of a construction site in Amsterdam. Although seemingly executed rapidly on site, the painting was in fact carefully composed in the studio. Aided by his own photographs and sketches, Breitner portrayed a city in transition. Like his friend Vincent van Gogh, Breitner admired naturalist literature and was determined to become a “painter of the people.”
  • E. J. van Wisselingh & Co., Amsterdam in 1902. Sold to A. Prins, Amsterdam/Hamburg, 31 May 1902, for Dfl 2.000. (Arij Prins [1860-1922] was a Dutch man of letters and a close friend of Breitner with whom he corresponded, and who lived in Hamburg from 1885 to 1905. Breitner's account book, which is in the Breitner Archive at the rkd in The Hague, lists the name of Arij Prins as the purchaser of the painting for Fl. 2.000. There is also a list of his works sold through the dealer van Wisselingh; there W. Prins, Hamburg, is mentioned as the purchaser of this work. W. is most likely a brother of Arij.) A. Terwindt. M. P. Voûte, Amsterdam, by 1922. Dr. W. L. Ladenius, Haarlem. Amsterdam sale, F. Muller & Co., 15-22 December 1942 (lot 129), Doorbraak Raadhuisstraat in den Winter, signed, canvas, 60.5 x 81 cm, repr., for Dfl 2.200. Amsterdam sale, Sotheby Mak van Waay, 15 May 1984 (lot 175), repr., for Dfl 47.560, to E. J. van Wisselingh & Co., Amsterdam. Purchased by the CMA in 1985.
  • Turner, Evan H. "Year in Review for 1985." The Bulletin of The Cleveland Museum of Art LXXIII, no. 2 (February, 1986): 27-71. Reproduced: p. 55, fig. 81; Mentioned: p.65, no. 81
    Bergsma,Rieta, Paul Hefting, and Jan Frederik Heijbroek. George Hendrik Breitner, 1857-1923: schilderijen, tekeningen, foto's. Bussum, Netherlands: Thoth, 1994.
    Robinson, William. "George Hendrik Breitner and the Emergence of Dutch Modernism." The Bulletin of The Cleveland Museum of Art LXXXI, no.2 (February, 1994): 27-43. Reproduced: cover
    Argencourt, Louise d', and Roger Diederen. Catalogue of Paintings. Pt. 4. European Paintings of the 19th Century. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1974. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 90-94, Vol. I, no. 34
    Heijbroek, J.F., and Erik Schmitz. George Hendrik Breitner in Amsterdam. Bussum, Netherlands : Uitgeverij Thoth, 2014.
  • Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Beijing World Art Museum, China (May 26-August 27, 2006); Mori Art Center (September 16-November 26, 2006); Seoul Art Center, South Korea (December 22, 2006-March 28, 2007); Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, South Korea (April 7-May 20, 2007); Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada (June 9-September 16, 2007); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 21, 2007-January 13, 2008); Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN (February 15-June 1, 2008); Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT (June 22-September 21, 2008); The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (October 12, 2008-January 18, 2009).
    CMA (organizer). Beijing World Art Museum, China, May 26 - Aug. 27, 2006; Mori Arts Center, Tokyo, Japan: Sept. 9 - Nov. 26, 2006; Seoul Arts Center, Seoul, Korea: Dec. 18, 2006 - March 31, 2007; Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea: Apr. 7 - May 20, 2007; Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: June 9 - Sept. 16, 2007; Cleveland Museum of Art, Oct. 21, 2007- January 13, 2008; Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, TN, Feb. 21-June 1, 2008; Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT, June 22 - September 21, 2008; and the Detroit Institute of Arts, MI, October 12, 2008 - January 18, 2009: "Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art"
    The Year in Review for 1985. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 12-April 20, 1986).
    London, Royal Academy. Exhibition of Dutch Art (1929), no. 383, Rebuilding at Amsterdam, lent by M. P. Voûte, canvas, 58 x 78 cm.
    Possibly Rotterdam, Kunstzalen Unger en Van Mens. Tentoonstelling van werken van G. H. Breitner (1918), no. 2, Doorbraak Raadhuisstraat, Eigendom (property), not repr.
    Amsterdam, E. J. van Wisselingh & Co. Catalogus der tentoonstelling van Schilderijen en Aquarellen door G. H. Breitner (1916), no. 17, Bouwerij; Winter, S (painting) 59 x 78 cm, 1902.
    Amsterdam, Arti et Amicitiae. Tentoonstelling van Kunstwerken vervaardigd door leden der Maatschappij (1906), no. 23, Bouwerij.
    Possibly The Hague, Pulchri Studio. Derde tentoonstelling van schilderijen enz. Gehouden door E. J. Van Wisselingh & Co. (1905), no. 32, Bouwerij [Building Activity].
    Pittsburgh, Carnegie Institute. Ninth Annual Exhibition (1904), no. 34, Making a New Street in Amsterdam (repr.).
  • {{cite web|title=Construction Site in Amsterdam|url=false|author=George Hendrik Breitner|year=c. 1902|access-date=27 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1985.145