Laborers manufacture rope by twisting together strands of fiber, which are strung along a path called a ropewalk. Liebermann, who was German, made this scene during a visit to the Dutch town of Edam, which is situated outside of Amsterdam, on what was once an inlet of the North Sea. In the background is a canal linking Edam to the larger body of water. Liebermann’s bold, rapid brushwork and vivid palette opened up new directions in German art of the period; notable in this work are the touches of light-colored paint that convey the effect of sunlight passing through the trees.
This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Open Access
As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.
API
Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.
This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Artwork Details
Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item
Title:The Ropewalk in Edam
Artist:Max Liebermann (German, Berlin 1847–1935 Berlin)
Date:1904
Medium:Oil on canvas
Dimensions:39 3/4 x 28 in. (101 x 71.1 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:Reisinger Fund, 1916
Object Number:16.148.2
Inscription: Signed and dated (lower left): M Lieberman 1904.
[Paul Cassirer, Berlin; 1904–14; stock no. 607; bought from the artist on November 7, 1904]; Josef Stransky, New York (1914–16; sold to The Met)
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. 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.
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.
Bonn. Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. "Max Liebermann: Wegbereiter der Moderne," April 21–September 11, 2011, no. 81.
Hamburger Kunsthalle. "Max Liebermann: Wegbereiter der Moderne," September 30, 2011–February 19, 2012, no. 81.
Emil Heilbut. "Die Zweite Ausstellung des Deutschen Künstlerbunds." Kunst und Künstler 3 (1905), pp. 419–20, ill., calls it "Seilerbahn".
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, calls it "Die Seiler" and locates it in the collection of Paul Cassirer, Berlin; mentions that there is a study in the Kuthe collection, Berlin (Eberle 1996, no. 1914/10).
Erich Hancke. Max Liebermann: Sein Leben und seine Werke. Berlin, 1914, pp. 415–16, 541, ill., calls it "Seilerbahn in Edam," and lists it in the collection of Paul Cassirer, Berlin.
Wilhelm Trübner. Sammlung Stransky: Deutsche Meister des XIX.Jahrhunderts. Munich, 1914, unpaginated, ill., as "Die Seilerbahn".
Frank E. Washburn-Freund. "Die Sammlung Stransky: Ein Vorposten Deutscher Kunst in Amerika." Der Cicerone 8 (1916), pp. 265, 271, fig. 36.
Alfred Gold. "Max Liebermann—Berlin." Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration 39 (October 1916), ill. p. 2, as "Die Seiler".
B[ryson]. B[urroughs]. "German Pictures Bought Out of the Reisinger Fund." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 12 (January 1917), pp. 6, 8, ill., as "The Ropewalk".
Max J. Friedländer. Max Liebermann. Berlin, [1924], p. 208, pl. 53, calls it "Die Seiler" and erroneously locates it in the collection of Tilla Durieux, Berlin [Durieux owned the oil study for this painting; see Ref. Eberle 1996, no. 1904/10].
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, as "Seilerbahn in Edam" in the caption and "Seilerbahn" in the text.
Josephine L. Allen and Elizabeth E. Gardner. A Concise Catalogue of the European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1954, p. 60.
Alfred Werner. "The Forgotten Art of Max Liebermann." Art Journal 23 (Spring 1964), p. 214, fig. 6, as "The Ropewalk".
Sigrid Achenbach inMax Liebermann in seiner Zeit. Exh. cat., Nationalgalerie Berlin. Berlin, 1979, p. 590, under no. 326.
Alison de Lima Greene et al. inGerman 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), note that it was painted during a visit to Edam, a small town about thirteen miles northeast of Amsterdam, and that the tree-lined path with figures was one of Liebermann's favorite compositional devices; comment that in this picture the artist "focuses on a tedious occupation that dehumanizes the worker"; mention a chalk study for this painting (Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Cologne) and the smaller painting of the same title and date (Eberle 1996, no. 1914/10).
Holly Prentiss Richardson. "Landscape in the Work of Max Liebermann." PhD diss., Brown University, 1991, vol. 2, p. 153, no. 427, calls it "Seilerbahn in Edam (Rope-making in Edam)"; erroneously lists Tilla Durieux in the provenance.
Katharine Baetjer. European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born Before 1865: A Summary Catalogue. New York, 1995, p. 239, ill.
Matthias Eberle. Max Liebermann, 1847–1935: Werkverzeichnis der Gemälde und Ölstudien. Vol. 2, 1900–1935. Munich, 1996, pp. 625–27, no. 1904/11, ill. (color), catalogues the smaller oil painting of this theme, with the figures seen from behind (no. 1904/10), as a study for our painting.
Birgit Verwiebe inMax 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).
Max Liebermann: Wegbereiter der Moderne. Ed. Robert Fleck. Exh. cat., Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn. Cologne, 2011, p. 214, no. 81, colorpl. 81.
Christopher With in "The Art of the Deal: Collecting Max Liebermann in America." Max Liebermann and International Modernism: An Artist's Career from Empire to Third Reich. Ed. Marion Deshmukh, Françoise Forster-Hahn, and Barbara Gaehtgens. New York, 2011, p. 221, colorpl. XVI, notes that it was the only oil painting by Liebermann to enter the permanent collection of any American museum before the country's entry into World War I.
A smaller painting of the same subject, with the figures seen from behind (1904; sale, Villa Grisebach, Berlin, June 5, 2009, no. 12, bought in), is catalogued by Eberle (1996, no. 1914/10) as a study for our picture. A chalk study for our painting is in the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Cologne.
In 1887, Liebermann painted three other versions of this theme while in the town of Katwijk, in the Netherlands (Eberle 1996, nos. 1887/2, 1887/3, 1887/29).
After Max Liebermann (German, Berlin 1847–1935 Berlin)
ca. 1902–1942
Resources for Research
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
