Willem Witsenartist • painter • watercolourist • draughtsmanAmsterdam 1860-1923

Willem Witsen attended the Rijksacademie, Amsterdam, between 1876 and 1884, and there became friends with the painters E. Karsen, Tholen, Breitner and Israels. After a stay in London, where he became acquainted with Whistler’s work, Witsen began painting dreamy, quiet cityscapes in a dark palette that were to become his specialism. Unlike Breitner and Israels’ bustling city impressions, Witsen saw Amsterdam as a monument to timeless beauty. He also painted landscapes and sometimes still lifes and portraits.