Artwork
Fire in the Old City Hall of Amsterdam
Fire in the Old City Hall of Amsterdam is a paint painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Aert van der Neer. It dates from 1650 and is held in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The scene captures the intensity of the fire while including various vessels, specifically a longboat and a sailboat, navigating the waters nearby.
The painting depicts the Old City Hall of Amsterdam engulfed in a conflagration, set against the backdrop of the IJ waterway. The scene captures the intensity of the fire while including various vessels, specifically a longboat and a sailboat, navigating the waters nearby. As a landscape work, the piece focuses on the dramatic interplay of light from the blaze against the night sky and the architectural silhouette of the burning municipal building.
Technique & Style
Aert van der Neer executed this landscape painting using paint applied to a panel support. The work depicts a dramatic conflagration engulfing the Old City Hall of Amsterdam, with the scene set against the backdrop of the IJ waterway. The composition includes maritime elements such as longboats and sailboats navigating near the burning structure. Currently held in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin, the piece was formerly owned by Barthold Suermondt.
History & Provenance
Fire in the Old City Hall of Amsterdam is a landscape painting by Aert van der Neer, created as a depiction of the conflagration at Amsterdam's Old City Hall, featuring figures such as a longboat and sailboat on the IJ. The work is executed in paint on panel and belongs to the landscape genre. It entered the collection of Barthold Suermondt before being acquired by the Gemäldegalerie Berlin, where it remains on display.
The painting was catalogued in the Gemäldegalerie's holdings and is recorded in the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie as part of the Dutch Golden Age corpus.
Fire in the Old City Hall of Amsterdam is an oil painting on panel by Aert van der Neer, depicting a conflagration at Amsterdam's Old City Hall with figures in longboats and sailboats on the IJ. It is part of the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin and was previously owned by Barthold Suermondt. The work has been exhibited at the Rijksmuseum and the Amsterdam Museum as part of historical and art exhibitions on Dutch Golden Age painting and Amsterdam's urban history.
Context
Aert van der Neer's Fire in the Old City Hall of Amsterdam emerged within the Dutch Golden Age landscape tradition, reflecting contemporary fascination with atmospheric effects and urban spectacle. The painting's depiction of a conflagration amidst Amsterdam's iconic waterways resonated with 17th-century audiences attuned to both commercial vitality and disaster vulnerability. Art historians situate it within van der Neer's oeuvre of nocturnal and conflagrative scenes, emphasizing his technical innovation in rendering fire and smoke against darkening urban skylines.
Its presence in the Gemäldegalerie Berlin collection, formerly owned by Barthold Suermondt, underscores the work's enduring scholarly interest as a representative example of Dutch topographical imagination intertwined with dramatic narrative.
Overview
Fire in the Old City Hall of Amsterdam, painted circa 1650 by Aert van der Neer, is a nocturnal landscape depicting a devastating fire at the Old City Hall in Amsterdam, set along the IJ river.
Artist & collection
Artist
Aert van der Neer, or Aernout or Artus (c. 1603 – 9 November 1677), was a landscape painter of the Dutch Golden Age, who specialized in small night scenes lit only by moonlight and fires, and snowy winter landscapes,…
