De Schreierstoren te Amsterdam

Jacob Maris returned to the Schreierstoren subject in 1880, producing a second major canvas of the tower that differs in emphasis from his 1872 version. Where the earlier work engaged with the full urban setting including the bridge over the Gelderse Kade, this canvas focuses more intently on the tower itself as an atmospheric presence. By 1880 the Hague School was at the height of its influence, and Maris had become one of its most respected practitioners. The Schreierstoren, dating to the fifteenth century, stood as a rare surviving fragment of medieval Amsterdam in a city that was rapidly expanding and modernizing. For Hague School painters drawn to the tension between historical memory and present-day change, such landmarks held natural appeal. This canvas is now held by the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands, reflecting its importance in the national artistic record.

Maris built the composition around strong vertical and horizontal axes — tower rising against sky, waterfront extending laterally. The masonry is handled with broken, textured brushwork suggesting roughness without minute detail. A cool, diffuse light bathes the scene with the characteristic Hague School restraint.