Heiwerk aan de Van Diemenstraat (bij het IJ)

This painting depicts the construction of new warehouses on the River IJ. Steam engines drive piles into the ground while labourers shorten the piles to the right height. In the distance, the water of the recently created North Sea Canal can be seen. At the end of the nineteenth century, there was a great deal of construction in Amsterdam, including Central Station, the Beurs van Berlage and the Stedelijk Museum. Builders were busy working on the outskirts of the city too, as in the Van Diemenstraat. Breitner captured these activities in many photographs and paintings. He was fascinated by demolition and excavation as a dynamic image of the modern city. For Breitner, the construction pit was the location where the changes in his beloved old Amsterdam became clearly visible. Breitner painted the excavated layers of soil in various shades of black, brown and grey. The piles lend a rhythmic structure to the composition.