View of the Old Stock Exchange at Amsterdam

In Amsterdam, Job almost exclusively chose views around Dam square, depicting the Townhall (now Royal Palace), Waag, Nieuwe Kerk, the Fish Market and the Stock Exchange. The latter is the subject of the present work, in which Berckheyde permits us a candid view of the Stock Exchange’s inner courtyard, a hive of activity where in the left foreground three gentlemen, dressed in fine, long black coats and broad brimmed hats, engage in conversation. Behind them a diverse crowd of traders and the like fill the courtyard. Under the colonnade to the left a bearded man with a paper in his hand is seen raising a stick. He is the ‘beursknecht’, the concierge of the Exchange who was among others responsible for the orderly adherence to the house rules and public announcements.

In the centre of the court, behind the three men in black, four Orientals distinguish themselves by means of their exotic clothing. The red, turquoise, orange, purple and white accents provided by their cloaks, pants, hats and sandals contrast beautifully with the more sober palette of the environment. Moreover, their presence underlines Amsterdam’s position as the international centre of commerce, where people of different national and cultural backgrounds engaged in the early modern world trade. Looking ahead beyond the crowd, a view to the outside shows the raised sails of the boats at Rokin, and the silhouettes of the houses behind them.

At least six depictions of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange by Job Berckheyde are known. The painting discussed here is the smallest of the group and the only work painted not on canvas but on panel. In contrast, moreover, emphasis in the present painting is redirected to the traders, whereas the other works provide more general overviews of the architecture and scenery. The whole group must have been painted after 1668, as all depict the architectural situation following the renovation of the building finalised that year.