Willem Witsenartist • painter • watercolourist • draughtsmanAmsterdam 1860-1923

Willem Witsen, painter and photographer, became friends with the painters Eduard Karsen, Tholen, Breitner and Isaac Israels at the Rijksacademie in Amsterdam. After a stay in London, where he became acquainted with Whistler's work, Witsen began painting dreamy, tranquil cityscapes in a dark pallette, that were to become his specialism.In contrast to the bustling city impressions of Breitner and Israels, Witsen saw Amsterdag as a monument of timeless beauty. After 1910 he painted many of his Amsterdam cityscapes from the water; he had a barge with an executive cabin at the Montelbaanstoren that served as a floating studio. From 1911 he exchanged it for a deck barge with a shack that he could move to places where he wanted to work.