Signed and dated (lower left): M Lieberman 1904.
Liebermann painted "The Ropewalk in Edam" in 1904 during a visit to the small Dutch town, about thirteen miles northeast of Amsterdam near the Zuider Zee. The painting illustrates laborers manufacturing rope by twisting strands of fiber together. The work was done along a path known as a ropewalk. In the background is the canal that links Edam to the Zuider Zee.
Another painting of the same subject is recorded (present location unknown). According to Liebermann's biographer, both pictures had the same kind of surface and strong color, which were developed from a careful study of Impressionism in the 1870s and 1880s.
[Paul Cassirer, Berlin; 1904–14; stock no. 607; bought from the artist on November 7, 1904]; Josef Stransky, New York (1914–16; sold to MMA)
Berlin. Ausstellungshaus am Kurfürstendamm. "Zweite Ausstellung des Deutschen Künstlerbundes," May–October 1905, no. 129 (as "Seilerbahn," for sale).
Weimar. Museumsplatz. "Dritte Ausstellung des Deutschen Künstlerbundes," Summer 1906, no. 128 (as "Seilerbahn," for sale).
Mannheim. Städtische Kunsthalle. "Internationale Kunst und Grosse Gartenbau Ausstellung," May 1–October 20, 1907, no. 546 (as "Seilerbahn").
Huntington, N.Y. Heckschers Art Museum. "European Influence on American Painting of the 19th Century," June 8–29, 1947, no. 35 (as "Ropewalk").
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "German Masters of the Nineteenth Century: Paintings and Drawings from the Federal Republic of Germany," May 2–July 5, 1981, no. 53 (as "Ropewalk in Edam").
Toronto. Art Gallery of Ontario. "German Masters of the Nineteenth Century: Paintings and Drawings from the Federal Republic of Germany," August 1–October 11, 1981, no. 53 (as "Ropewalk in Edam").
Berlin. Alte Nationalgalerie. "Max Liebermann: Jahrhundertwende," July 20–October 26, 1997, no. 38.
Los Angeles. Skirball Cultural Center. "Max Liebermann: From Realism to Impressionism," September 15, 2005–January 29, 2006, no. 28.
New York. Jewish Museum. "Max Liebermann: From Realism to Impressionism," March 10–July 9, 2006, no. 28.
Emil Heilbut. "Die Zweite Ausstellung des Deutschen Künstlerbunds." Kunst und Künstler 3 (1905), pp. 419–20, ill.
Hans Rosenhagen. "Die Zweite Ausstellung des Deutschen Künstlerbundes in Berlin." Die Kunst für Alle 20 (August 1, 1905), p. 497, ill. p. 494.
Bernhard Köhler. "Der Künstlerbund in Weimar." Das Leben 2, no. 38 (1906), pp. 820–21, ill.
Gustav Pauli. Max Liebermann. Stuttgart, 1911, pp. 246, 251, ill. p. 154.
Erich Hancke. Max Liebermann: Sein Leben und seine Werke. Berlin, 1914, pp. 415–16, 541, ill.
Wilhelm Trübner. Sammlung Stransky: Deutsche Meister des XIX.Jahrhunderts. Munich, 1914, unpaginated, ill.
Alfred Gold. "Max Liebermann—Berlin." Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration 39 (October 1916), ill. p. 2.
Frank E. Washburn-Freund. "Die Sammlung Stransky: Ein Vorposten Deutscher Kunst in Amerika." Der Cicerone 8 (1916), pp. 265, 271, fig. 36.
B[ryson]. B[urroughs]. "German Pictures Bought Out of the Reisinger Fund." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 12 (January 1917), pp. 6, 8, ill.
Max J. Friedländer. Max Liebermann. Berlin, [1924], p. 208, pl. 53.
Carl Georg Heise. "Amerikanische Museen." Kunst und Künstler 23 (September 1925), p. 342.
Hans Rosenhagen. Max Liebermann. 2nd. rev. ed. [1st ed., 1900]. Bielefeld, 1927, pp. 72, 80, pl. 61.
Alfred Werner. "The Forgotten Art of Max Liebermann." Art Journal 23 (Spring 1964), p. 214, fig. 6.
Sigrid Achenbach in Max Liebermann in seiner Zeit. Exh. cat., Nationalgalerie Berlin. Berlin, 1979, p. 590, under no. 326.
Alison de Lima Greene et al. in German Masters of the Nineteenth Century: Paintings and Drawings from the Federal Republic of Germany. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1981, pp. 150–51, no. 53, ill. (color).
Holly Prentiss Richardson. "Landscape in the Work of Max Liebermann." PhD diss., Brown University, 1991, vol. 2, p. 153, no. 427.
Matthias Eberle. "1900–1935." Max Liebermann, 1847–1935: Werkverzeichnis der Gemälde und Ölstudien. 2, Munich, 1996, pp. 625–27, no. 1904/11, ill. (color).
Birgit Verwiebe in Max Liebermann: Jahrhundertwende. Exh. cat., Alte Nationalgalerie. Berlin, 1997, p. 184, no. 38, ill. (color).
Dietrich Gronau. Max Liebermann: Eine Biographie. Frankfurt, 2001, p. 295.
Frauke Berchtig. Max Liebermann. Munich, 2005, pp. 66–67, ill. (color).
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