Afbraak van een gebouw 1875 - 1923

Willem Witsen created this print, “Afbraak van een gebouw,” or “Demolition of a Building,” using etching techniques sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. The print shows a canal scene in Amsterdam, probably not far from where Witsen lived and worked. But instead of presenting the city as a picturesque postcard, it suggests that Amsterdam was a place subject to the forces of modernization and change. The building under demolition might once have been someone’s home or business, but now its destruction is treated as labor. The print hints at the social costs of progress, and the question of who benefits. Was Witsen making a political statement? You can research the economic history of Amsterdam at this time by consulting city archives, newspapers, and other documents. These can help to understand the role of this image, and art in general, as a mirror for, or critique of, its time.