Van Gogh in

Railway station

While visiting Amsterdam with his friend Anton Kerssemakers to see the new Rijksmuseum in October 1885, Vincent quickly painted a small view of what he saw from the waiting room of the temporary railway station on the Westerdok (1878–1889). With the opening of the new, and permanent, Centraal Station the Westerdok station was torn down in 1889. Vincent sent the painting, View of Amsterdam from Central Station, and another small one made at the back of the building, View of Amsterdam, De Ruyterkade, to his brother Theo the week after he produced them, apologising for their condition:

“To my regret, the two little sketches of Amsterdam are quite badly damaged. They got wet on the journey; then the little panels warped when they dried, and dust &c. got into them. I’m sending them all the same to show you that if, in the space of an hour, I want to dash off an impression somewhere, I’m beginning to be able to do this in the same sentiment as others who — analyze — their impressions. And give themselves a reason for what they see. This is something other than feeling, that’s to say undergoing impressions — there may perhaps be a great deal between experiencing impressions and — analyzing them, that’s to say taking them apart and putting them together again. But it’s enjoyable to put something down in a rush.” Read the complete letter