View of Amsterdam from the Kadijk 1760 - 1781

Editor: Here we have "View of Amsterdam from the Kadijk", an etching, dating from around 1760 to 1781, from James Bretherton, here at the Rijksmuseum. It's delicate, almost dreamlike. All those faint lines...it reminds me of a memory. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Ah, yes. A memory, you say? Precisely. It's a captured whisper of a moment, isn't it? Notice how the etching almost floats on the paper. For me, it’s as if Bretherton isn’t just depicting Amsterdam but summoning its ghost. What do you make of the light here? Is it warm, inviting, or something else? Editor: It feels diffused, muted, not harsh at all. I'm wondering, do you think that softens the urban scene somehow? It's not like some dramatic cityscape painting. Curator: Precisely! The gentleness is key. Bretherton’s Baroque leanings find an echo in this soft-focus gaze. This print invites quiet contemplation. The cityscape isn’t meant to overwhelm. Instead, Bretherton seems to draw a connection between nature, with the windswept vista in the foreground, and human endeavour. The etching makes Amsterdam an embraceable entity. And isn’t that the point of true seeing, anyway? To touch, somehow, with one's vision? Editor: That's beautiful! I never really considered the landscape in the front and how the perspective shapes the whole piece, not just the windmills and buildings in the distance. Thanks for showing me a fresh perspective! Curator: And thank you, for feeling this etching alongside me! Isn't it remarkable what new meanings surface through conversation?