Catalogue Entry
The dome in the left distance belongs to the Groothoofdspoort, Dordrecht’s fifteenth-century town gate (fig. 1). This indicates that the work depicts a view looking south along the confluence of three rivers (the Merwede, the Oude Maas, and the Noord) toward Dordrecht. The painting relates closely to the etching Dutch Seascape (E.602), in which the same two boats are at the center of the composition. The etching has the same orientation as the painting, which suggests that it could have been reversed in the printing process. However, here the sailboat at the right on the water is to the right of the distant windmill whereas in the etching it is to the left of the windmill. The painting includes a sailboat in the left foreground, which is not in the etching due to the more closely cropped composition. Twachtman also featured the Groothoofdspoort in another etching, Holland Dykes (E.653).
Twachtman hung this painting on the wall of the living room in his home in Greenwich, as an archival photograph reveals (fig. 1). It remains today in the family of his daughter Marjorie.