This painting depicts the construction of new warehouses on the River IJ. Steam engines drive piles into the ground while labourers shorten the piles to the right height. In the distance, the water of the recently created North Sea Canal can be seen. At the end of the nineteenth century, there was a great deal of construction in Amsterdam, including Central Station, the Beurs van Berlage and the Stedelijk Museum. Builders were busy working on the outskirts of the city too, as in the Van Diemenstraat. Breitner captured these activities in many photographs and paintings. He was fascinated by demolition and excavation as a dynamic image of the modern city. For Breitner, the construction pit was the location where the changes in his beloved old Amsterdam became clearly visible. Breitner painted the excavated layers of soil in various shades of black, brown and grey. The piles lend a rhythmic structure to the composition.

Makers

Translated title

Piling at Van Diemen Street (near the IJ)

Collection

Other

Production date

1897

Library

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Dimensions

100.5 x 151.5cm.

Material

oil on canvas

Object number

A 2204

Credits

schenking Vereeniging tot het Vormen van eene Openbare Verzameling van Hedendaagsche Kunst te Amsterdam (VVHK) / gift of the Association for the Formation of a Public Collection of Contemporary Art in Amsterdam (VVHK)

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