Rotterdam, Raambrug – Eugène Rensburg, ca. 1915-1920

THE RAAMBRUG IN ROTTERDAM BEFORE THE WAR

Drawing in Indian ink and watercolour by Eugène Rensburg (1872–1956), signed “Eug. Rensburg.” Executed circa 1915–1920. Size: 33.2 × 50.2 cm.

This view shows a corner of Rotterdam’s old city centre with the St. Lawrence Church in the background. The Raambrug spans the Delftsevaart, seen here from the Haagseveer. The street to the right is the Westewagenstraat. The spot where the draught horses stand once housed the company Hoogenraad & Wesselo, a line-boat service operating between Rotterdam and The Hague. Along the quay stand several hand-operated cranes used for unloading inland vessels. Horses wait patiently beside their wagons laden with wooden barrels, while the handcart in the foreground seems purpose-built for transporting casks.

On the street corner stands a building once occupied by a coppersmith’s workshop, now selling “tinware and household goods.” Next door, a sign advertises “Second-Hand Clothes” and lodgings at the Doele Hotel on the first floor.

A native of a Rotterdam artist family, Rensburg was celebrated for his precise topographical drawings of South Holland’s towns. In this work he captures, with great accuracy and a warm, almost nostalgic tone, the bustling pre-war Rotterdam — a city where trade, craftsmanship, and everyday life still met quite literally along the water’s edge.

Price: Euro 1.250,-