Amsterdamse gracht

About this artwork

plaatrand: hoogte 119 mm x breedte 223 mm

Art Historical Context

Muirhead Bone’s “Amsterdamse gracht” captures the quiet elegance of an Amsterdam canal in 1913. Working at the height of his career, Bone was celebrated for his precise architectural views rendered in print. The modest scale—just 119 by 223 millimetres—invites close looking, rewarding the viewer with delicate reflections on water and the subtle rhythms of gabled façades. Executed in drypoint, the work showcases the technique’s distinctive velvety line. Unlike traditional etching, drypoint allows the artist to scratch directly into the copper plate, raising a burr that holds ink and produces r...

About the Artist

Muirhead Bone · 1876–1953

Sir Muirhead Bone was born in Glasgow on March 23, 1876, into a world of shipyards and industrial architecture that would profoundly shape his art. He trained initially in architectural draftsmanship before studying at Glasgow School of Art, developing a draughtsman's eye for structure and mass. He began printmaking in 1898, and though his first known print was a lithograph, he became celebrated a...