Ge ter Horst - oil on canvas | ' Blauwbrug in Amsterdam' | 1943 - Sold

Fantastic painted cityscape of the Blauwbrug in Amsterdam.
Gerardus Ter Horst, student of Jan Sluijters, has put this cityscape on canvas in a very striking and impressionistic way. Painted during the Second World War. He uses a beautiful and fresh color palette. The tram and the people on the bridge make the work playful and convey a certain 'cheerfulness', certainly accentuated by the fresh colours.

The blue bridge connects Amstelstraat with Waterlooplein and spans the Amstel. An iconic place in the heart of Amsterdam

Here was a wooden drawbridge between the city and the island of Vluivenburg. Like other bridges over the Amstel, it then had the shape of the Magere Brug. The Amsterdam municipal council wanted a new bridge in connection with the running of a tram connection. She wanted a bridge of luxurious appearance, partly to show off during the Colonial Exhibition of 1883. Architect Bastiaan de Greef and his assistant Willem Springer were asked to come up with a design ("a somewhat monumental bridge at that beautiful point"). They came with a bridge in the style of the Alexandre III bridge from Paris. Willem Springer's son, Jan Springer, made designs for decorations. A problem was that if the arches of the Alexandre III were transferred to Amsterdam, the bridge would sink into the mud, so shorter arches were chosen. What did come to Amsterdam are the sturdy bridge pillars, necessary in Paris to keep ice floes in the fast-flowing Seine off the bridge, but essentially useless in the slow-flowing Amstel. The bridge was opened in 1883. It has since been seen as one of the most striking bridges in the city, despite the fact that the bridge had to be adjusted several times. After opening, criticism erupted, the bridge was considered too pompous for Amsterdam.
Bridge architect Piet Kramer was involved in the restoration work in 1938/1939. He had to ensure that the iron girders were replaced by concrete girders to be able to carry the increased (heavier) traffic. The bridge fell into the route covered by the "Provisional schedule of traffic improvements" memorandum. The bridge was not allowed to become heavier, as there was fear that the foundation would also have to be replaced if the load was even heavier. The bridge then took on a slightly different appearance (wider view of the river, bridge shields disappeared). The changes in appearance were reversed in 1999 during a new restoration, when she also regained her original blue appearance.
Tram line 9 ran over the bridge from 1903-2018. Line 14 was added in 1982. (source Wikipedia)