Bidspirit auction | Jewish Cemetery near Amsterdam –

Jewish Cemetery near Amsterdam – Etching by Abraham Bloteling after Jacob van Ruisdael, Netherlands, ca. 1670 - A rare and historically important 17th-century etching depicting the Beth Haim Portuguese-Jewish Cemetery at Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, near Amsterdam. The print bears the inscription “Begraef-plaats der Joden, buijten Amsteldam” (Burial place of the Jews outside Amsterdam) and portrays one of the most significant sites in Dutch-Jewish history. The composition was engraved by Abraham Bloteling (1640–1690) after a drawing by Jacob van Ruisdael (1629–1682), one of the greatest Dutch landscape painters of the Golden Age. The view includes the tomb of Isaac Uriel in the middle ground, while the St. Urbanus Church can be seen in the distance. Ruisdael’s interpretation combines realism with allegorical symbolism, portraying the serenity of the landscape alongside a deeper reflection on mortality and faith. 📜 Details:  • Netherlands, circa 1670  • Engraver: Abraham Bloteling  • After: Jacob van Ruisdael  • Inscription: “Begraef-plaats der Joden, buijten Amsteldam”  • Technique: Copperplate etching / engraving  • Size: 21 × 28 cm  • Condition: Very good for age; mild toning, verso with a faint pencil sketch of a child figure. 📖 Historical Significance: The Beth Haim Cemetery, founded in 1614, is the oldest Jewish burial ground in the Netherlands and the resting place of many leading figures of Amsterdam’s Sephardic Jewish community—descendants of refugees from the Iberian Peninsula. The cemetery’s elaborately carved tombs in Hebrew, Portuguese, and Dutch stand as enduring symbols of Jewish presence and tolerance in 17th-century Holland.