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Often because they live there and are proud of their city. Or because their eye is struck by a picturesque corner or a piece of city life that demands to be captured. Early in the Western European visual tradition, depicting a city or village often had a religious purpose or was the setting for a historical or religious representation. But gradually the townscape emerged from this in the 17th century. A large number of painters then practiced this genre, because it was very popular. The bright faces in Amsterdam and The Hague of Dutch painters like Gerrit Berckheyde (1638-1698) reflect the pride of the townspeople in their city, who with his distinguished houses and public buildings testified to the wealth that overseas trade had brought to Holland. Most painters attached importance to a topographically correct representation. Others sometimes added a fantasy building or made changes to the composition. But the paintings were always painted in a mood and with an eye for detail. And they were imitated well into the 19th century.
The topographically accurate approach to the cityscape came to the fore in the 18th century, with painters such as Jan ten Compe (1713-1761) and Paulus Constantijn la Fargue (1728-1782). As common features, these paintings often have a cool, clear atmosphere, space and clarity and a very refined detailing. Fantasy was banned, except for the updating. There was a preference, among both painters and buyers, for the buildings and imposing locations known at the time. Nowadays it is possible to determine with the help of old maps and a magnifying glass exactly what the painter’s point of view must have been and which long-demolished city gate or bridge has been depicted. The great demand for realistic cityscapes also led many painters to take their own city as their subject, others moved into their province to compose drawing and sketching series of topographic images. Collections with descriptions and images of buildings of a village, town or province also appeared in print.
In the 19th century, many painters picked up the 17th-century cityscape and put it in a new coat. They take over the atmosphere and the warm light, but the upholstery becomes more lively by acting, walking and talking city-dwellers. The typical Dutch atmosphere image that the artist managed to evoke with his idealized square or picturesque street also caught on with foreign buyers, especially in England and Scotland, and painting was also done for this foreign market. In Amsterdam Cornelis Springer and students and contemporaries represent this genre, in The Hague it is the group of painters around Bart van Hove, head of the Hague drawing academy.
This group of painters from The Hague includes Charles Leickert, Salomon Verveer and Petrus Gerardus Vertin. For them, displaying atmosphere and mood was more important than accurately registering buildings and decorations. Their cityscapes are often characterized by a looser painting technique, colorful palette and often contours that fade to the depth. Vertin had learned this at Van Hove’s studio. Together with other students, he regularly worked on meter-high set pieces for the Royal Theater of the royal city. It goes without saying that details did not get over that. Fantasy also plays a role in him. He often chose a recognizable church tower, the houses around it differ from the reality of the time.
At the end of the 19th century, a new kind of cityscape was created. It is combined with the representation of modern, everyday life in the city. Painters no longer idealize, but register the reality they see. Even if it is sometimes less pleasant and the weather is dirty and wet. The pieces of city life by George Hendrik Breitner are an example of this.
The Tachtigers’ motto ‘Art is the most individual expression of the most individual emotion’ takes shape in its cityscapes. The painting becomes the expression of the artist’s feeling or impression. The way of display becomes just as important as the subject. Breitner painted with great directness the modern city and the people who live there. Yet he rarely went out to paint on the street. Except that it was cumbersome – it required a permit from the city of Amsterdam – there were always ramps on the busy canals, which he hated. He did make quick sketches and photos outside. His freedom of work paved the way for younger generations of painters, from Frans Langeveld with his sturdy, robust city impressions to Ben Walrecht‘s freely designed townscapes of Groningen.
What Breitner was for Amsterdam was Floris Arntzenius for The Hague. Arntzenius enjoyed life in the court city and captured both the poor and the rich part of the city. His palette shows the influence of the Hague School. He prefers to paint in rainy weather, creating a diffused light, a mood he liked best, especially when the street was still wet. And if there was also asphalt, the reflections on the road surface made it even more interesting for the painter. Every now and then he rented a “window” behind which he could work quietly. Isaac Israels sometimes did this in Amsterdam to work undisturbed, as did Arnout Colnot, who used a window in the Arti et Amicitiae building for his view of Rokin in Amsterdam.
