The Prinsengracht, Amsterdam

Artist Isaak Ouwater (Dutch, 1748-1793)

Place of OriginNetherlands

Date1782

DimensionsH: 17 3/4 in. (45 cm); W: 22 1/2 in. (57 cm)

MediumOil on canvas.

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1976.13

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 26, Rotunda

Label TextThe townscape became a popular subject for Dutch artists during the 1600s and was a way to show pride in the elegant cities of the powerful Dutch Republic. Though Dutch influence had waned by the 1700s, a sense of pride in the past continued the popularity of city views. Influenced by 17th-century painter Jan van der Heyden (see The Garden of the Old Palace, Brussels, Gallery 27), Isaak Ouwater painted carefully observed views of his native Amsterdam and other towns. So detailed you can count every cobblestone of the street and plank of the bridge, this painting shows the area where the major canal the Prinsengracht meets the smaller Spiegelgracht on the right. Anecdotal details such as the chickens wandering the street, dogs squabbling over a bone, and the wealthy, well-dressed couple’s encounter with a family of beggars enliven the scene. The prominent row of brick houses dominating the composition includes the Apothecary Bouvy and Son, where two gentlemen greet each other. The painting was likely commissioned by Bouvy, in whose family it remained until 1940.Published ReferencesHuebner, F. M., Romantische Schilderkunst in de Nederlanden, The Hague, 1942, fig. 7.

Toledo Museum of Art, The Toledo Museum of Art, European Paintings, Toledo, 1976, p. 120, pl. 147.

"Treasures for Toledo," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 19, nos. 2 & 3, 1976, p. 64, repr.

The Toledo Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collections, Toledo, 1976, repr. p. 57.

"La Chronique des Arts," Gazette des Beaux-Arts, vol. 89, no. 1298, Mar. 1977, p. 91.

Young, Mahonri Sharp, "European Landscape," Apollo, vol. 108, no. 22, Oct. 1978, p. 271, repr. fig. 10.

Great Dutch Paintings from America, The Hague, 1990, p. 106.

Exhibition HistorySchiedam, Stedelijk Museum, 1951, no. 57.

Delft, Stedelijk Museum Het Prinsenhof, 1952, no. 57.

Utrecht, Centraal Museum, Nederlandse Architectuurschilders, 1953, no. 78.

Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum, 1956-1957, no. 73.

Laren, N.H., Singer Museum, Kunstbezit Rondom Laren, 1958, no. 177.

Amsterdam, Museum Willet Holthuysen, 1958, no. 33, repr.