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Drawbridge in Nieuw-Amsterdam

Drawbridge in Nieuw-Amsterdam is a watercolor created in November 1883 by Vincent van Gogh in Drenthe, The Netherlands.

Watercolor painting

Van Gogh wrote to his brother, Theo, of the view outside his room in Nieuw-Amsterdam, Drenthe: "I now have a reasonably large room where a stove has been placed, where there happens to be a small balcony. From which I can even see the heath with the huts. I also look out on a very curious drawbridge." Within the letter he drew a sketch of the bridge, which became the watercolor, Drawbridge in Nieuw-Amsterdam.

The work was one of 148 watercolors made by Van Gogh, who said of working in that medium in 1881: <blockquote>What a splendid thing watercolour is to express atmosphere and distance,<br> so that the figure is surrounded by air and can breathe in it, as it were.</blockquote>

Five years after having made this work, van Gogh made Langlois Bridge at Arles in France which captures a lighter mood.

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Further reading