The new Teertuinen in winter

George Hendrik Breitner's 'The New Teertuinen in Winter' (1904) depicts a specific Amsterdam urban space in its winter aspect — the Teertuinen was a working area near the Amsterdam waterfront connected to the tar works (teer = tar) that had been part of the city's maritime industry. His documentation of this specific working-class industrial area in winter showed his consistent interest in the less picturesque aspects of Amsterdam's urban character.

Breitner renders the Teertuinen in winter with his characteristic atmospheric directness — the specific character of the working area under winter conditions (the cold light, the bare trees, the quality of the industrial waterfront in the dormant season) depicted with his informal, observational approach. His handling of the winter atmosphere and the specific spatial character of this working Amsterdam space creates the seasonal and social character of the subject.