Amsterdam-Noord – Leonard Schenk, c. 1730

VIEW OF AMSTERDAM-NOORD FROM THE IJ WATER “Gesigt uyt het Y tussen Amsteldam en ‘t Tolhuys, te sien naar Buyk-sloot.”…

VIEW OF AMSTERDAM-NOORD FROM THE IJ WATER

“Gesigt uyt het Y tussen Amsteldam en ‘t Tolhuys, te sien naar Buyk-sloot.” [View from the IJ between Amsterdam and the Tolhuis, looking towards Buiksloot.] Copper engraving with etching made by Adolph van der Laan and published by Leonard Schenk around 1720. Coloured by a later hand. Size: 55 x 96 cm.

Across the IJ from Amsterdam, on the tip of the Volewijck peninsula, stood a tollhouse, an inn that also served as a ferry house where carriages with or without coachmen could be rented.

From a slightly elevated viewpoint, as if the artist is looking from a high mast, this large print provides a view over the water with the tollhouse somewhat hidden among the ships and in the distance the dike village of Buiksloot. There was a ferry connection with Amsterdam already in the 14th century, the Buiksloterveer. From the mid-17th century, it served as a transfer point for the towpath between Amsterdam, Hoorn, Edam, Monnickendam, and Purmerend.

The IJ is bustling with activity. It was a place where large ships came and went to all regions of the world. The horizon sits low, allowing the characteristic Dutch cloudy sky to dominate much of the composition. On the left, an official yacht from the Amsterdam chamber of the Dutch East India Company sails, while in the foreground to the right, a Fluyt (ship) is anchored. The captain approaches in a rowboat.

There is ample space for a wide title ribbon in both Dutch and Latin. The ribbon is held on the right and left by putti, who seem to struggle against the strong wind. One of the putti holds up the coat of arms of Buiksloot.

Literature: Auction catalogue R.W.P. de Vries (1925), no. 296, “very rare.”

Price: Euro 4,850 (incl. frame)