De Dam

Breitner started work on his monumental painting De Dam in 1896. The backdrop for the bustle of the city is formed by the Nieuwe Kerk and part of the Royal Palace on the left, with on the right a section of a monument that stood there at the time. In the foreground, we can see horse-drawn trams and people hurrying across the square. The gleaming streets and the occasional umbrella reveal the reason for their haste. The unusual cropping of the scene makes it clear that Breitner based this painting on a photograph. For Breitner, photography was a useful tool, just as sketches had been in the past. He almost certainly used a photograph by his friend Willem Witsen, an artist and amateur photographer, to create this work. Breitner started taking his own photographs in 1899, so was able to take the composition of his new paintings into consideration. To celebrate the coronation of Queen Wilhelmina in 1898, a new stained-glass window was installed in the Nieuwe Kerk. Breitner added this element to his painting at a later date.