Winter view IJ Amsterdam – Abraham Lion Zeelander, after Albertus Brondgeest, 1823-1830

“Wintergezigt aan het Y te Amsterdam”. [Winter view of the IJ at Amsterdam.] Etching with engraving made between 1823 and 1830 by Abraham Lion Zeelander, after a drawing by Albertus Brondgeest. Coloured by a later hand. Size: 31 × 34.7 cm.

The print shows a winter view of the IJ before Amsterdam, seen from the east, in the area of what would later become the Oosterdok. In the foreground lies the snow-covered shoreline with moorings, posts and wooden constructions partly covered with ice and frost. Several ships are moored along the quay. Between them stand small wooden structures, including the characteristic boomhuisjes and the so-called Bothuisje, which served for supervision and management of the harbour and its shipping traffic.

The composition is based on a drawing by Albertus Brondgeest (1786–1849), an Amsterdam painter and draughtsman known for his landscapes. The print was etched and engraved by Abraham Lion Zeelander (1789–1856), a prolific engraver who produced many topographical and historical prints after designs by contemporary artists.

The depicted area lay on the eastern side of the city, where in the early nineteenth century a relatively open harbour landscape still existed with shipyards, landing places and small harbour buildings. Only a few years after this print was made, the area would undergo major transformation: with the construction of the Oosterdok from the 1830s onward, Amsterdam’s eastern waterfront was modernised and reorganised.

The scene possesses a typically nineteenth-century picturesque character. The combination of winter weather, activity on the ice, and the silhouettes of ships and masts reflects a long tradition of Dutch winter scenes, in which frozen waterways function not only as a natural phenomenon but also as a temporary public space where transport, work and leisure come together.

Price: Euro 250,-