Gezicht op huizen aan de Oude Schans in Amsterdam c. 1913

Editor: This is "Gezicht op huizen aan de Oude Schans in Amsterdam" by Willem Witsen, from around 1913. It's an etching on paper, currently held at the Rijksmuseum. There's a kind of quiet stillness to it; it reminds me of a foggy morning. What catches your eye when you look at this? Curator: Ah, Witsen. I always feel a sense of hushed intimacy looking at his work, as though he’s let me in on a private moment. I immediately think about his relationship with the Tachtigers, the Dutch literary movement, how their focus on depicting individual, sensory experience might have shaped his vision. The intricate lines of the buildings and the starkness of that leafless tree make me wonder what kind of person he was. Did he choose this angle intentionally, do you think, or did it just call to him in a flash? Editor: I suppose he could have chosen any street, any viewpoint. The tree is interesting; it almost blocks the buildings. Why choose such a stark tree? Curator: Perhaps because life is in the shadows too, just like our minds. The sharpness of that bare tree and its contrast with the architectural facades could mirror how personal anxieties contrast against public identities. Or perhaps I'm getting too fanciful? The starkness gives it, at least for me, a strong emotional tone. What do you think about Witsen's decision to work mostly in monochrome? Editor: It's interesting to see a cityscape rendered in monochrome, focusing more on form and shadow, but also sort of diminishing the energy one expects from a city scene. I'm drawn to those background figures though. I wonder who they are. Curator: The ghost of lives lived. This etching leaves much to contemplate and leaves me wanting to amble down these little canals in the twilight and to daydream on this for many an afternoon. Editor: I like how it balances intimacy and historical observation, an insightful look into Amsterdam’s quiet beauty in that period. Thanks, that's changed how I see it.