page_title: Willem Witsen
section_title: Formative years
hierarchical_section_title: Willem Witsen / Formative years
caption_attribution_description: English: 'Uilenburg II' (Amsterdam) Dit is een gezicht van de Rapenburgwal naar de brug tussen Rapenburg en Uilenburg en het pakhuis op de hoek Uilenburgwal en Rapenburgwal dat aan de voorkant "Sweeden" heet (c.1911) r.o. in potlood get.
context_page_description: Willem Witsen was a Dutch painter and photographer associated with the Amsterdam Impressionism movement.
  Witsen's work, influenced by James MacNeill Whistler, often portrayed calm urban landscapes as well as agricultural scenes. He also created portraits and photographs of prominent figures of the Amsterdam art world, as well as other artists, such as French Symbolist poet Paul Verlaine.
  He was born in a wealthy ruling-class family, dating back to the governing families of the 17th century, of whom Cornelis Jan Witsen and his son Nicolaes Witsen were members. He studied at academies in Amsterdam and Antwerp.
context_section_description: As a student at the Amsterdam Rijksacademie van Beeldende Kunsten (Academy of Visual Arts), Willem Witsen was a board member of the artists association Sint Lucas. He was the founder of the Nederlandse Etsclub (Dutch Etching Club).
  Witsen belonged to the Tachtigers, a group of young artists who proclaimed the principle of l'art pour l'art Art for art's sake. The group influenced Dutch artistic and political life during the 1890s. Witsen wrote under a pseudonym in the literary magazine De Nieuwe Gids, which he also supported financially. His circle of friends included the painters George Hendrik Breitner, Isaac Israëls, and Jan Veth and the writers Lodewijk van Deyssel, Albert Verwey, Willem Kloos, and Herman Gorter.
  During visits to London, Witsen became acquainted with the paintings of James McNeill Whistler, whose influence can be seen in Witsen's View of Victoria Embankment in London. Witsen worked in artist's colonies in Laren, Rotterdam, Wijk bij Duurstede and Ede. He made his studies of the small town Dordrecht while sitting in a boat, which gave him the special lower viewpoint which is characteristic of his works in that town.
  After returning to Amsterdam, Witsen became a member of the artists circle Maatschappij Arti et Amicitiae. He was also a member of the artists association Sint Lucas, which is named after Saint Luke, patron of the painters.
  Witsen's works are distinguishable from those of a contemporary European style, Impressionism. Their atmosphere is melancholy, depicting austere, wintery, dark scenes. The dark paintings did not sell well at his first solo exhibition, sponsored by the Amsterdam art dealer Van Wisselingh in 1895. A few years later, after his second exhibition, he proved successful with his prints depicting Rotterdam, Amsterdam, and painted views on Ede, and his watercolours were particularly successful.
caption: Uylenburg Amsterdam 
  (drawing by Witsen, 1911)
exif: {}