The ruins of the old town hall of Amsterdam after the fire of 7 July 1652

Created in 1659, the oil painting depicts the aftermath of the fire that destroyed the Old City Hall of Amsterdam on July 7, 1652. The work is signed 'I. BEERSTRAATEN' on a stone in the lower left corner, confirming its attribution to Jan Abrahamsz Beerstraaten. It portrays the ruins from the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal looking toward the Dam, capturing the scene immediately following the disaster before the tower was demolished two days later by order of the city council.

The provenance chain begins with an acquisition by the Rijksmuseum in 1818. The museum purchased the painting at an auction held in Amsterdam on August 17 of that year, though the specific name of the auction house remains unknown. The artwork has remained in the museum's collection since this purchase.

The painting is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The museum acquired the work in 1818, likely purchasing it at an anonymous auction held by an Amsterdam auction house on August 17 of that year.

While the artwork depicts the aftermath of the 1652 fire and was created in 1659, the provided sources do not list specific exhibitions where the piece has been displayed.

The painting's legacy rests on its detailed visual documentation of Amsterdam's architectural transformation after the 1652 fire. It provided a rare contemporary record of the Old Town Hall's damaged rear façade and adjacent structures, including the Wisselbank and buildings later replaced by the Paleis op de Dam. The work influenced 19th-century historiography by shaping perceptions of Amsterdam's urban development, particularly through its depiction of post-fire reconstruction efforts and surviving elements like the damaged roof at the Dam-Vogelsteeg junction.

Its provenance at the Rijksmuseum since 1818 cemented its role in preserving this pivotal moment in Dutch civic history.

Jan Abrahamsz Beerstraaten’s 1659 oil painting records the aftermath of the July 7, 1652 fire that devastated Amsterdam’s Old City Hall. The work captures Dam Square surrounded by the charred remnants of the municipal building, its once‑grand tower now reduced to a skeletal frame.

The Old City Hall, a central civic edifice on Dam Square, was a focal point of Amsterdam’s public life before its destruction. The fire’s impact prompted extensive reconstruction, and the painting situates the event within the broader narrative of 17th‑century urban development in the Netherlands.