Ruins of Old Town Hall by Rembrandt

Rembrandt's interest in the topography of the surroundings of Amsterdam has already been remarked upon, and apart from the drawings of English subjects he occasionally drew architecture for its own sake. One example is the moving drawing of the Ruins of the Old Town Hall of Amsterdam after its destruction by fire which is dated 1652 and is in the collection at the Rembrandthuis, Amsterdam. It was to be just nine years later that Rembrandt was asked to decorate the new building which was to rise from the ashes of the old.