signed -watercolour 47×32 cm NB: It has been suggested that the man could be
Adolphe Boutard. Sold
About the artist
In late 1886, following his return from Paris, Breitner set off for Amsterdam. The city was in a state of transition; industry was growing and modern transport was beginning to make its demands: some canals were being filled in and new residential districts were being built. Breitner was fascinated by the new developments and urban expansion, but also by what he called ‘the delicate mist’: the picturesque quality of the forms and colours in the city centre.
In 1886, he also attended the Rijksakademie for a time and soon became a member of the artists’ association Arti et Amicitiae. It was here that his most important works were created, establishing him as the pre-eminent portrayer of the city and Amsterdam life, both by day and by night.
Breitner eagerly sought out new ideas, new techniques and new subjects for his work, with his photographs often serving as preliminary sketches for the composition of his paintings. In his early years in Amsterdam, he mainly painted nudes and portraits, such as the well-known portrait of the actress Theo Frenkel Bouwmeester. In Amsterdam, Breitner was accepted into the circle of artists and writers that had formed around the bimonthly literary magazine De Nieuwe Gids. With his nudes, lived-in portraits and, above all, his cityscapes, Breitner became one of the leaders of a group of young artists, the Amsterdam Impressionists, who brought about a significant shift within the art.