Willem Witsen artwork • painting • for sale The Oude Waal in winter, Amsterdam

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.