Trap van het Elisabethsgasthuis te Amsterdam

About this artwork

hoogte 192 mm x breedte 214 mm

Art Historical Context

In this brush drawing, a broad stone staircase ascends toward a plain doorway set in a weathered wall. An ornate balcony projects from the left side of the composition, while columns and arched openings frame the right. Soft washes of gray capture the rough textures of crumbling plaster, worn steps, and shifting shadows, all rendered with loose, fluid strokes that emphasize the building’s aged character. Created around 1660 by Willem Schellinks, the sheet records the staircase of the Elisabethsgasthuis, a charitable hospital in Amsterdam. Schellinks often used brush and wash for such architectural studies, producing concise views that preserve the appearance of the city’s historic structures. Today the drawing offers visitors a direct encounter with seventeenth-century Amsterdam, showing how everyday buildings were observed and recorded by Dutch artists of the period.