The sixth of seven children born to a butcher and his wife in Haarlem, Gerrit Berckheyde developed into one of the Golden Age’s most distinguished painters of city views. In the mid-1660s, Berckheyde began systematically to paint the architectural landmarks of both Haarlem and Amsterdam. While remaining a resident of Haarlem for his whole life, Berckheyde found it easy to travel the 19 kilometres that separated his home town from Amsterdam, probably using the hourly barge service that then connected the two cities. His many paintings of city views of Amsterdam were presumably created in the calm of his Haarlem studio, utilising drawings sketched during frequent trips to the capital.
Frame: Reproduction, 2005, based on a Dutch frame from 1695