Skip to Content
Closed today, next open Thursday. Closed today, next open Thursday.

  • Mon 11–5
  • Tue–Wed Closed
  • Thu 11–8
  • Fri–Sun 11–5
  • The first hour of every day, 10–11 a.m., is reserved for member-only viewing.

The City Walls of Utrecht by the "Plompetoren"

A work made of pen and black ink, with brush and gray wash, on ivory laid paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

Image actions

  • A work made of pen and black ink, with brush and gray wash, on ivory laid paper.

Date:

1763

Artist:

Paulus van Liender
Dutch, 1731-1797

About this artwork

Delicately and fastidiously wrought, this view of the bend in a canal documents a specific place and time. Liender, who preferred topographical and architectural subjects throughout his career, drew this view of the Utrecht city walls with the Plompetoren (Hulking Tower) on several occasions. The knife-edge precision in varying the saturation of the ink and wash helps create the illusion of the glassy surface of the canal at the lower center of this drawing. Despite the care with which the structures and foliage are depicted, more than half of the drawn sheet is devoted to an ethereal description of light and air.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Paul Liender

Title

The City Walls of Utrecht by the "Plompetoren"

Place

Netherlands (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1763

Medium

Pen and black ink, with brush and gray wash, on ivory laid paper

Inscriptions

Signed and dated recto, lower left, in pen and black ink: "Paul: v: Liender fac: 1763"; inscribed verso, lower center, in pen and brown ink: "de Plompetooren te Utrecht, N. 55"

Dimensions

21.4 × 32.5 cm (8 7/16 × 12 13/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Dorothy Braude Edinburg to the Harry B. and Bessie K. Braude Memorial Collection

Reference Number

2013.971

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/142569/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

Share

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.
Learn more

Image actions

Share

Suggested Terms