The Nieuwe Zijds Voorburgwal with the Oude Haarlemmersluis, Amsterdam (with Topographical Liberties)

Jan van der Heyden

c. 1670

oil on panel

Rijksmuseum

A canal-side view of brick buildings and a lock system in Amsterdam, with boats and people engaged in daily activities under a bright sky with clouds. Van der Heyden captured the activity on and around the water in Amsterdam’s old town centre. With an eye for detail, he painted the old Haarlemmersluis, a lock on the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal. However, the picture does not present a real location: Van der Heyden combined the lock with a row of houses that is actually on a different canal, the Herengracht.