Old Man’s House Gate on the Kloveniersburgwal

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48” X 36” (122cm X 91cm)

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This impressive stone carving of three figures tops off the enormous eight-metre-tall getaway that defines the Kloveniersburgwal entrance of the covered alleyway known as the Oudemanhuispoort. The literal translation of ‘Oudemanhuispoort’ is ‘Old Man’s House Gate’, a reference to the former use of the alley as the entranceway to a network of alms-houses dating back to the early 1600s. This gate, along with a smaller sister gate, located at the other end of the passage, were not added until the 1780s. By the time of the gates installation the passageway had become a marketplace for books and other small items to provide financial support to the elderly residents. A hospital facility, for patients with cholera, had also been added to the complex. It is therefore, reasonable to assume that these three figures celebrate these, no doubt, benevolent activities. At the centre of the trinity sits a young woman holding an enormous cornucopia, she may be the Greek goddess Demeter who presided over the cycle of life and death as well as the harvest, and is flanked on either side by an elderly man and an ailing woman probably representing the alms-houses and hospital respectively. 

In its original condition this huge carved limestone pediment would have been a uniform white or at least a very light in colour, but two hundred and fifty years of Dutch weather and an industrial revolution have rendered it in a rich patina of rain streaks; lichens; bird faeces; soot and general city grime. This surface staining has revealed the network of seams between the sculpture’s component slabs and afforded an almost disturbing lifelike quality to these three unlikely cohorts. Now cloaked in swirling hues of clay and ochre these figures have sat perched atop their gatehouse vantage for almost two and a half centuries looking out over what, to them, must be a blur of activity as the city around them evolves.

Bespectacled Arch on the Oudezijds Achterburgwal

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48” X 24” (122cm X 61cm)

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This Archway sits on the Achterburgwal entrance of the covered alleyway known as the Oudemanhuispoort, the literal English translation being ‘Old Man’s House Gate’. The alleyway leads to a complex of former Alms-houses now part of the University of Amsterdam. This site dates back to the Middle Ages when it was occupied by a convent that later become a care home and hospital after the reformation. This gate was added in the late 1700s when the covered alley was fitted with display cabinets to sell small items such as jewels, precious metals, and books, hence the spectacles in the crest. The passageway remains a market place for used and antique books to this day.

It is, however, the gate header that is of most interest to me. This beautiful doorway does not just tell you the location of the alley’s entrance, it puts on a big hat with a feather in it, throws back a billowing cape and in booming thespian tones, it announces it to the world. This archway transforms the mundane act of entering the passage into a theatrical event, an experience that has been replicated by millions of players over the centuries. Van Gogh, amongst countless other great artists and thinkers, was known to frequent this alley when it was part of the Royal College of Art. So, to what great events, through these stone spectacles, has this archway borne witness? Under its gaze what knowledge has been passed down and built upon? What encounters, conversations and eureka moments have taken place here? It is objects like this arch that give us cause us to imagine such things and in so doing make real these connections across time.

Collars and Cuffs on the Nieuwendijk

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24” X 30” (61cm X 76cm)

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This plaque, outside Hofhuis & Co, is a wonderful relic from the grand old age of retail. It does have to be acknowledged that the shop’s surroundings along with its inventory do not appear to have retained the lustre of its facade. The content of the shopwindow is dusty and is, in the main, made up of ‘work apparel’ although the good selection of tweed caps offers evidence of a more illustrious past. I do feel a great affinity with these once grand stores now in decline, not just because they remind me of the shops that populated the high streets of my youth, but because like them, I bounce along the uneven road service of progress like a stubborn old tin can being dragged  behind the white Rolls Royce of modernity. Always reluctantly moving forward yet perpetually a couple of decades behind.

This plaque is one of four distributed around the shop’s frontage.  Polished black stone in a white painted sculpted surround with hand cut lettering picked out in gold. The plaque announces the availability of shirtfronts, collars and cuffs for purchase, with the other three plaques reflecting similar themes. It is unquestionably beautiful, defiant amidst the discount displays and clutter of the modern city, a proud reminder of a bygone age of elegant purveyance. It must surely be an indication of the complete confidence that their way of life would endure and that there was no possibility of change that they would literally set their products in stone. It is ironic indeed that these plaques do so much resemble tombstones.

Lady with Chameleon and Sand Clock on the Damrak

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24” X 36” (61cm X 91cm)

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The building, upon which this statue is mounted, is situated at the top of the Damrak, close to Amsterdam Centraal Station, and it is perhaps one of the most unusual looking buildings in central Amsterdam. Its skyline would not be out of place in an episode of Scooby-do, it even has a small tower with a single deeply recessed round window to top-off the creepy ensemble. When looking at gothic revival buildings I have often wondered whether they were in fact designed to evoke a sense of foreboding or whether this is a more recent phenomena created through their use within the horror genre.

It is this building’s magnificent stone carvings that caught my eye. The uppermost floors are adorned with beautifully carved pairs of baboons, owls and chameleons, the rationale for this unlikely menagerie may well be known to some but is by no means obvious to me. The lower floors are dispersed with an equally strange collection of human figures. Each figure is depicted holding apparently random but oddly specific items, again the significance of which is unclear. My favourite of these is this young woman holding a chameleon perched on top of a sand clock who’s meaning I can only assume is to do with ‘time’ and ‘change’. But it is in the light of the morning that we see this figure at its best. The wide street and large body of adjacent water allow the morning sun unadulterated access to the facade, and as it washes the building in its honey-coloured glow any sense of the ghoulish shrivels away and what is left is banished to the shadows. 

Stone Pediment with Skulls on the Oude Hoogstraat

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48” X 24” (122cm X 61cm)

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About halfway along the Oude Hoogstraat, at the point it is joined by the Bethaniëndwarsstraat, lies this gateway. It is, I am told, a side entrance to a church, De Waalse Kerk, that like many churches in Amsterdam, lies concealed on three of its sides. I have noted that many of the city’s churches have these elaborately decorated carved stone entrance gates to advertise the church’s presence where the facade is concealed. Like many others, this archway is adorned with an engorged blood-red shield on a decorative mantle. The shield bears the city’s iconic three X’s emblem. There is a triptych of Fleur-de-lis along the lintel which is possibly a reference to French nobility as for the past four hundred years the sermons here have been exclusively delivered in french.

But it is the stone skulls on either side of the deconstructed arch that caught my eye. I have been led to believe that the pair of skulls were added to the ledges of the archway during the great plague to indicate that the churchyard was the location of a plague pit, or some such disease related facility. Passers-by would be advised by the addition of the ornaments as to the risks of coming too close to the site; as with the skull and crossbones motif on a bottle of poison. However it is the way that time and the elements have conspired to add their two-penneth that really interests me. The surface of these carved crania is a clearly much more hospitable environment for moss and lichen than the surface of the archway itself. The resulting green staining and subsequent slime streaking below, have given these harbingers of death a more poignantly pestilent air. 

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Postoffice Window on the Raadhuisstraat

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34” X 58” (86cm X 147cm)

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This is quite simply the finest window I’ve seen anywhere in Amsterdam. Situated on the Southerly wall of the wonderful former Main Post Office at Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal, this window is unquestionably the star of the Raadhuisstraat elevation and arguably of the entire building. At the time of this building’s inception the postal service was the nation’s pride, a cornerstone of civilisation and a vital instrument of trade and commerce and so the building’s opulence reflects this exalted status.

The old postal headquarters plays host to some of the finest carved stone decoration, gargoyles, and architectural embellishments in the city. But this particular window is a masterpiece. The ornamental stone frame, although showing it has been for more that one hundred and thirty years exposed to the elements, remains crisp and has a wonderful organic quality. The frame really does feel like a bountiful collection of trophies, garlands and tributes artfully laced together in a celebration of the modern triumph of post. But as incredible a piece of art and craft as the frame is, it is the delicate glazing that steals the show. The simple geometric pattern of turquoise and sapphire blue glass is absolutely mesmerising, it truly is the crowning jewel on a mountain of jewels.

Old Door with Adjacent Graffiti on the Herengracht

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48” X 36” (122cm X 91cm) 

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It is not always the grand or the glamorous buildings that provide a city with its sense of place. Indeed, it is often not the buildings themselves but the scars they carry that provide the narrative. For this reason I am often caught in two minds when I see the restoration of old buildings taking place as it is very much a mixed blessing. On the one hand restoration preserves the building for future generations and can breathe new life into a forgotten shell; but on the other hand it obliterates the rich patina created by the lives of the past.

In this doorway at dusk on the Herengracht, we find just such rich stories, collected together in a wonderful abstract tableau. The clean geometry of the architecture is afforded a blast of energy and a splash of colour by the layers of over- painted graffiti, whilst the carved wooden door ornamentation provides a connection between the hard lines and the organic forms. The years are evident here too, the bold streaks of green and bleached blooms that cover the stonework give it a molten quality and the wear patterns on the door itself offer clues as to its length of service.

But it is the love story between the two creatures that I find so captivating. The tale is of the graffito cat, for want of a better description, imprisoned in blue spray paint, gazing adoringly aloft at the winged cow-head gargoyle who stares out across the water, only catching the merest glimpse of his lover when the door is opened.

Monkey Door on the Oudebrugsteeg

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60” X 48” (152cm X 122cm)

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Each day, at the heart of the city, a steady lava flow of visitors spews out from under the magnificent shadow of the Amsterdam Centraal and spreads over the expansive station concourse before being funnelled into a stream along the Damrak. Here, at tourist ground zero, surrounded by hostels, head shops, budget eateries and emporia purveying every kind of souvenir known to man, stands this extraordinary building. This elegant art nouveau facade provides a shop front to a wholesaler of Dutch cheese, which in this street means that fibreglass Friesians, model windmills, and of course giant painted clogs overpower the neat stacks of yellow wax covered truckles. But if you look beyond the garish decor you realise that this building is not just pretty, it is stunning.

Every nook and crevice of this building exudes quality, from the exquisite hand painted tiles and mosaic floors to the wonderful writhing woodwork. This building is a testament to what happens when imagination and craftsmanship coalesce. But it is the outside that holds particular interest for me, specifically this enchanting gated side entrance leading via stone stairs to the vaulted cellar. This doorway would not be out of place in a castle from a tale by the Brothers Grimm, the semicircular arched aperture being complete with beautifully forged wrought iron portcullis gates. The immense stone blocks that make up the fabric of the facade have been punctuated with carvings of stylised fauna and flora, the precise significance of which is unknown to me but they do serve to further evoke a sense of fairytales.

Stad Slot on the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal

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24” X 36” ( 61cm X 91cm)

Buitenland Slot on the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal

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24” X 36” ( 61cm X 91cm)

All Things Rise & Fall

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48” X 24” (122cm X 61cm)

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This beautiful balcony balustrade is easily overlooked, I must have walked passed it a hundred times without ever noticing it. Like so many wonders in this city, it is but one gem lost amongst the embarrassment of rich treasures that is Amsterdam. Nevertheless, once noticed this rectangle of writhing copper and bronze streaked with verdigris is hard to ignore. As the afternoon sun, dappled and defused by the foliage of a nearby tree, casts its warmth over the white stone of this elegant art nouveau facade, it highlights and makes magical the contrast between the swirling turquoise and green stained metalwork and the crisp light glow of the masonry.

The wonderful undulating ribbon of text did however take me a little time to decipher. This was in the main due to the fact that I was unsure what language it was in and where the breaks in the words were. Once I had realised that the text OMNIAORTAOCCIDVNT should read OMNIA ORTA OCCIDUNT and was Latin I was just a google search away. The words are attributed to the Roman historian Sallust, and is part of the full quotation ‘Omnia orta occidunt, et aucta senescunt’ – ‘everthing that rises goes down, and everything that grows grows old.’ This elegant shortened version we find emblazoned across this balcony translates to the succinct ‘All things rise and fall’ a wonderful sentiment of which to be reminded.

Stone Angel on the Oudezijds Voorburgwal

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24” X 36” (61cm X 91cm)

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This is a detail from the beautiful, and yet slightly strange, stone gateway that is the entrance of De Brakke Grond, from the Oudezijds Voorburgwal. Everything about this gateway is a little odd, from its eclectic design to the fact that it has remained standing so long after the demolition of its namesake church. Even the date of its creation is somewhat uncertain and a source of debate. What is not in question however is the quality of the carving itself, it has withstood around four centuries of wear and weather and this being case it is in remarkably good shape.

This angel forms the focus of the decoration on the archway’s righthand pilaster and although there has been some damage to the face, which has been exacerbated by subsequent erosion, the delicate features are still evident. It is however lighting and lichen that drew me to this part of the doorway. The warm light of the afternoon picks out the lichen and highlights the rust red surface staining whilst light that was deemed surplus by the highlights is given a second chance to contribute to the scene and is reflected back by the damp cobbles providing blue tinted illumination to the shadows.

381 Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal

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30” X 30” (76cm X 76cm)

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This fanlight window is beautifully designed and has been artfully put together. I think it is the incredible attention to detail coupled with the sheer number of trades and master craftspeople required to create this relatively small detail that I find so astounding. From the sculptor to the stone mason to the bricklayer and the stained-glass glazier, all working together, each artisan perfectly dovetailing with the next.

The symbolism of the cherub holding a key over a mantle is one that alas eludes me. But it is not the building’s history or the decor’s rational that interests me, it is the incredible optimism that gave rise to the will to commit significant time and substantial resources to lavish architectural decoration that is so evident throughout the city. From the grandest of palaces to humblest homes the desire to deck the halls and even festoon the walls has been heeded. It gives the city a nostalgic festive air, a sense of year round celebration.

Stone Gargoyle on the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal

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24” X 36” (61cm X 91cm)

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Sculpture, and particularly stone carving, is a duplicitous act. On the one hand it is an act of supreme craft. This is necessitated by the raw materials being, without exception, unwieldy, unforgiving and requiring a wealth of skill and technical knowledge as well as extraordinary amounts of physical effort in order to shape them. On the other hand, the act of taking the aforementioned unrelenting sediment and hacking the rumpus of shapes until the play of light and shade on the remnant mass resembles that of supple flesh or billowing fabric is an act of mind-bending sheer creativity. With effort, determination and patience a capable individual may be able to distil the former and attain the requisite skills. However, the latter is an elixir altogether more elusive.

When we take the time to look, not a pastime without risk on this busting corner, we find exceptional examples of the art as well as the craft all over the former Post Office headquarters. On the buildings lower northeast corner, bathed in the reflected light of the late afternoon, this gargoyle patiently sits with its mouth agog. It is but one of a multitude of imaginative faces that stare out from the buildings elaborate facades. However, it is worth individual examination as it exemplifies more than most the ability of the artisan not just to skilfully shape the stone but to breathe life into it.