etching, watermark Van Gelder & Zonen and Strasburg lily in a crest
signed and numbered ‘Witsen’ and ‘No. 82’ and with the address of E.J. Wisseling & Co. (in the plate)
27.9 x 31.2 cm (plate); 49.4 x 65.7 cm (sheet)
Boon 87; Van Wisselingh 419; De Groot 93b, first and final state [1]

Willem Witsen was born into a prominent Amsterdam family in 1860. [2] His talent for drawing emerged at a young age and after having left school, he received took lessons from the landscape painter Jan Evert Morel and Carel Philippeau and later he received evening classes at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten from August Allebé. By the early 1880s, Witsen had become increasingly involved with the innovative ideas of his artistic friends, resulting in the founding of the artists’ association St. Lucas. [3] Throughout the years, Witsen developed a strong interest in the graphic arts working alongside artists such as Antoon Derkinderen, Jacobus van Looy and Hendrik Haverman. Inspired by leading examples from Paris and Antwerp, Witsen, along with fellow young artists who were known as the Tachtigers, established the Nederlandsche Etsclub in 1885. With the aim of revitalizing Dutch printmaking, the Nederlansche Etsclub organized group exhibitions and published portfolios with prints annually. As noted by De Groot, Witsen expressed himself within the tradition of printmaking in a unique and recognizable way and he played a significant role as a stimulator and organizer in Dutch printmaking. [4]

Witsen’s love of urban landscapes, which earned him the nickname ‘the painter of cityscapes’, took him to various cities across the Netherlands as well as to London and Venice, where he captured atmospheric scenes in prints and drawings. Between 1898 and 1899, he travelled to Dordrecht multiple times where he navigated the canals on a so-called atelierschuit (a type of boat on which an artist could work). [5] In situ, he made sketches which served as the designs for a series of twelve etchings depicting views in Dordrecht. [6] The series stands out for their stark realism and radical viewpoints combined with an exceptionally delicately observed interplay between light, water, and architecture. Instead of depicting famous historic buildings or well-known views, the etchings focus on anonymous houses, primarily on the Voorstraathaven. Witsen opted for a meticulous, almost photographic, [7] framework within which a play of lines converged. The artist was as meticulous in his printing technique as he was in his artistic approach; from around 1897 (just before he began his Dordrecht series), he typically printed several additional states after the first until he was satisfied with the result. [8]


[1] I. de Groot et al., Willem Witsen. Schilderijen. Tekeningen. Prenten. Foto’s. 1860-1923, Bussum, 2003, p. 209.
[2] J. Reynaerts, ‘Beheerste bewogenheid. Het leven van Willem Witsen (1860-1923), in I. de Groot et al., Willem Witsen. Schilderijen. Tekeningen. Prenten. Foto’s. 1860-1923, Bussum, 2003, p. 14.
[3] J. Reynaerts , op. cit., 2003, p. 19.
[4] ibid., p. 187.
[5] ibid., p. 183.
[6] J.F. Heijbroek, Willem Witsen en Dordrecht. Wandelen en varen door de stad rond 1900, Bussum, 2003, p. 7.
[7] Witsen was indeed a keen photographer and did use, sometimes (although rarely) photos for his prints, see I. de Groot, op. cit., Bussum, 2003, p. 183.
[8] ibid., p. 183.