Art-Berckheyde-Bend in the Herengracht TB02

I maintain records on my trackables. They have the goal to circulate more than five years and to be moved by at least 25 cachers. That is a target rate of five drops per year for five years, or a drop every 73 days. The average drop rate of my trackables in the US is 115 days, in Europe it is 65 days. As of 19-May-22 this one has survived for 9.6 years and had been moved by 22 cachers, for an average drop every 159 days. Please keep it moving!

No permission is needed to leave the U.S. While in the U.S., please drop it in a Premium Member only OR a rural cache near a busy trail or road. Do not place it in an urban cache or abandon it at a caching event where there is no security. Transport the bug in the original plastic bag for as long as the bag lasts; the bag keeps the trackable clean and dry, protects the number and prevents tangling with other items. Otherwise, take the trackable anywhere you wish.

This is one of a series of travel bugs made to recognize paintings seen, and admired by the bug owner. A digital copy of this painting was downloaded from the internet. The copy was reduced in size and proportions cropped to accommodate the laminating materials available to the owner. Regrettably these processes diminish the effort of the artist. One truly must see the original in person to fully appreciate the work. The text below is a mixture of my own observations and material gleaned from the internet (mostly Wikipedia and Web Gallery).

Gerrit Adriaenszoon Berckheyde (1638-1698) was a painter during the Dutch Golden Age, the 17th century. Prior to this time most patrons of the arts were the church and royalty who largely wanted portraits and paintings with religious or allegorical themes. After the Renaissance, northern Europe became a center of commerce and the middle classes prospered to the point that they wanted art to decorate their homes. And, they had broader tastes is subject matter than institutional patrons. To satisfy the demand, the Dutch and Flemish regions developed an amazing number of artists. Portraiture and religious topics were still important, but landscape, seascape, cityscape, still life and commemorative paintings began to appear.

Berckheyde is best known for his cityscapes, mainly of Haarlem, Amsterdam and The Hague. This view of the Bend in the Herengracht near the Nieuwe Spiegelstraat in Amsterdam is taken from the bridge near the Leidsestraat, that is from the west. This painting and most of his others are characterized by superb draftsmanship and an almost rigid perspective. In Dutch, nieuwe is new, gracht is canal and straat is street. I saw this painting at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, in April 2010. I would be willing to bet prints of Berckhyde’s paintings grace the walls of many architects and structural engineers.