Gezicht vanaf de Nieuwe Brug te Amsterdam 1836 - 1883

Alexandre Jules Monthelier made this print of Amsterdam’s Nieuwe Brug, or New Bridge, using lithography, a popular medium in the 19th century, to depict the daily life of a bustling port city. The print presents Amsterdam as a center of commerce and trade. The waterways teem with boats of various sizes, suggesting a complex network of transportation and exchange. This image was made during a time of significant economic and social change in the Netherlands, as the country transitioned from a mercantile society to a more industrialized nation. Prints like these were often commissioned and sold to celebrate urban development and progress. What is interesting here is how a seemingly straightforward depiction can be seen as a carefully constructed image that reflects the values and aspirations of a particular society at a particular moment in time. To understand this image, it's useful to look at the historical context, examining archival documents, period newspapers, and other visual materials.