0:00:02 > 0:00:04From towering temples...
0:00:04 > 0:00:06This is a sensory overload.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08..to gorgeous galleries.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11They are just exquisitely painted.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13From traditional tunes...
0:00:14 > 0:00:16..to contemporary creatives.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18Have you ever had a book rejected?
0:00:18 > 0:00:20Pfft, I don't care.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24Every great city offers a dazzling mix of world-class
0:00:24 > 0:00:26artistic treasures.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28And hidden delights...
0:00:28 > 0:00:31that reveal its distinctive history and character.
0:00:31 > 0:00:35I've really entered the territory of the hunchback of Oude Kerk.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38Which would you choose to see on a flying visit?
0:00:38 > 0:00:40I'm Alastair Sooke.
0:00:40 > 0:00:42And I'm Janina Ramirez.
0:00:42 > 0:00:47In this series we're selecting our personal must-see sights,
0:00:47 > 0:00:51using the magnificent art and architecture of three great cities
0:00:51 > 0:00:54to understand the forces that shaped them.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56Keep one eye on your wealth,
0:00:56 > 0:01:00but always keep an eye on your spiritual wellbeing.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03We're two art lovers, with very different tastes.
0:01:04 > 0:01:05From the modern...
0:01:05 > 0:01:06..to the medieval.
0:01:08 > 0:01:09As your guides...
0:01:09 > 0:01:12I've lost all sense of direction on this map.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14..we'll be avoiding the crowds,
0:01:14 > 0:01:18by hunting for treats way off the beaten track.
0:01:18 > 0:01:20SHE GASPS
0:01:20 > 0:01:23And we'll also be finding new ways of appreciating
0:01:23 > 0:01:25the most famous attractions.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28That's my contribution to the Sagrada Familia.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33Between us, we'll show how centuries of political intrigue,
0:01:33 > 0:01:37privilege and the struggles of ordinary citizens
0:01:37 > 0:01:40are all woven through the artworks and buildings
0:01:40 > 0:01:43of these extraordinary cities.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55On this mission to capture the spirit of a city through its art,
0:01:55 > 0:01:59we're on a flying visit to one of the most freewheeling, liberal
0:01:59 > 0:02:01and innovative centres in the world.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04This, for me, is Amsterdam.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06We are right by the Centraal Station.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09It is busy. There are stag dos.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13This is the liberal Amsterdam I've been led to believe exists with the
0:02:13 > 0:02:18red-light district, drugs. You know, I can smell marijuana on the air.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21You're not wrong there, but I do think that the coffee shop vision of
0:02:21 > 0:02:22Amsterdam is a bit of a cliche.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24I've got a very different sense of it, in a way.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26And that's because my grandmother was Dutch,
0:02:26 > 0:02:29and I've spent lots of family holidays in the Netherlands.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32And this city, for me, is very much about that Dutch propensity
0:02:32 > 0:02:33for orderliness.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36There is a certain sense of schizophrenia in Amsterdam,
0:02:36 > 0:02:37- I think.- It's almost a paradox.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39These two poles of their identity.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41But a paradox we're going to unravel
0:02:41 > 0:02:43and solve by the end of the programme, I'm sure.
0:02:43 > 0:02:44So we've got a lot to explore, haven't we?
0:02:44 > 0:02:46A lot to discover about this city.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50We're going to find out about Amsterdam's unique identity.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53And see how the city offered a pioneering template
0:02:53 > 0:02:55for much of modern life.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59Globalised trade, democratic ideas
0:02:59 > 0:03:03and a balance between individual freedoms and community living.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08It's been credited with creating a new kind of society,
0:03:08 > 0:03:12dominated not by kings, but by citizens.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14And it set the standard for a domestic lifestyle
0:03:14 > 0:03:16familiar to us today.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20The best way to begin our tour of how the city first took shape
0:03:20 > 0:03:22is on the waterways.
0:03:22 > 0:03:23I'm going to drive.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26- Are you going to drive?- Yes. I'm going to drive. I'm up for this.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28- Hiya.- Well, decision made. - Ben, yeah?- Yep.
0:03:28 > 0:03:29- Hi, Nina.- Nice to meet you.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31Who's skipper?
0:03:31 > 0:03:32Me.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34- Need you ask, Ben? - You can be navigator.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41So, it's brilliant being out on the canals.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43This is the way to see Amsterdam, isn't it?
0:03:43 > 0:03:44But it's also great,
0:03:44 > 0:03:47because this gives you a sense of how the city has developed
0:03:47 > 0:03:49all around these arteries.
0:03:49 > 0:03:50I've got the map here...
0:03:50 > 0:03:52- Oh, yeah.- ..and you can see that medieval mess in the middle.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55- Medieval mess! - That's your period, isn't it?
0:03:55 > 0:03:57- That's my passion.- And there's a much more, sort of,
0:03:57 > 0:04:00regular canal belt that follows around it,
0:04:00 > 0:04:02where the city really expanded in the 17th century.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08From 1585 to the end of the 17th century,
0:04:08 > 0:04:11Amsterdam's population exploded
0:04:11 > 0:04:15from 30,000 to 220,000.
0:04:15 > 0:04:20So city officials embarked on an ambitious plan to reclaim swampland
0:04:20 > 0:04:22and expand the centre.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24Begun in 1613,
0:04:24 > 0:04:26the 100-kilometre canal network
0:04:26 > 0:04:28was hailed by other European cities
0:04:28 > 0:04:31as the greatest urban feat of the age.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33- There's a sign up there. - There's rapids here.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36- I don't think we can go down here! - Yeah, yeah.
0:04:36 > 0:04:37We can't go down here.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41So when we see that sign, that means "no entry", OK?
0:04:41 > 0:04:42Much like in the UK.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48The digging of the canals transformed Amsterdam.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50It made travel and trade easier,
0:04:50 > 0:04:53while fostering a sense of collective responsibility
0:04:53 > 0:04:55amongst its citizens,
0:04:55 > 0:04:58who had to help build and maintain the system.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00This forward-thinking approach to city living
0:05:00 > 0:05:03also broke down social hierarchies
0:05:03 > 0:05:06much sooner than in other cities in Europe.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09So there's this Dutch term, isn't there, "salmon living".
0:05:09 > 0:05:12This idea of living together, pulling together.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16I think that's really influenced the way that Amsterdam was created
0:05:16 > 0:05:17from the very ground up,
0:05:17 > 0:05:19having to turn what was, essentially,
0:05:19 > 0:05:21an uninhabitable marshland
0:05:21 > 0:05:26into something viable as a place to live and to trade.
0:05:26 > 0:05:27That wasn't easy to do.
0:05:27 > 0:05:3190 islands, 1,500 bridges, they put in.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33- Really?- Absolutely.
0:05:33 > 0:05:34And this is a huge...
0:05:34 > 0:05:37I don't want to scare you, but there's a big boat called Sunshine
0:05:37 > 0:05:38- which is coming up behind us. - I'm going to...
0:05:38 > 0:05:41- BOAT HORN HOOTS - Why is he hooting so aggressively?
0:05:41 > 0:05:43Cos we have to move faster.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46I like the fact you see that community effort reflected in
0:05:46 > 0:05:49the very fabric and structure of the city.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53And you don't find huge disjunction between massive palaces,
0:05:53 > 0:05:57places where the most powerful people could build huge...
0:05:57 > 0:05:59huge piles, really, and then poorer parts.
0:05:59 > 0:06:00It's relatively uniform.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03- All of the architecture feels slightly bourgeoisie...- Absolutely.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05..but it's approachable.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07You have that same sense of community spirit
0:06:07 > 0:06:10that dictated the whole canal belt system.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13- Nina...- OK.- ..I've lost all sense of direction on this map.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16- Alastair, you had one job to do. - I've let you down.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18- One job to do. I've driven the boat. - I know.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22Amsterdam's progressive town planning
0:06:22 > 0:06:26and mastery of the water worked in its favour.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28As the canal system was being engineered,
0:06:28 > 0:06:31the Dutch 80-year war against rule by Catholic Spain
0:06:31 > 0:06:33was drawing to an end.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36Amsterdam became a mercantile boom town.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40The wealth, rapidly amassed by its traders,
0:06:40 > 0:06:42also fuelled a lucrative market
0:06:42 > 0:06:44for spectacular Golden Age painting.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48Today, many tourists head straight to the museums
0:06:48 > 0:06:49to see the Dutch Masters.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53Before I visit them myself, I've come to the main avenue,
0:06:53 > 0:06:58the Damrak near Centraal Station, to follow the money.
0:06:58 > 0:07:00I think, if you want to understand
0:07:00 > 0:07:03why Amsterdam became such a commercial powerhouse,
0:07:03 > 0:07:05and remains so important in terms of trade and finance,
0:07:05 > 0:07:07then this is the perfect place to start.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11Because it's the last surviving stock exchange in the city.
0:07:12 > 0:07:17For an insider's view on the wealth that funded Amsterdam's art market,
0:07:17 > 0:07:18I've come to meet a banker
0:07:18 > 0:07:20who specialises in its financial history -
0:07:20 > 0:07:22Simon Lelieveldt.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24Simon, something that's always puzzled me,
0:07:24 > 0:07:28what you have in the 17th century is known as the Dutch Golden Age.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32You have these unbelievable amounts of money coming into the city,
0:07:32 > 0:07:35transforming Amsterdam into the centre of this world power,
0:07:35 > 0:07:38the Dutch Republic. But it happened like that, really quickly.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40Just a couple of generations.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43Why did Amsterdam become so rich, so quickly?
0:07:43 > 0:07:46The preconditions for becoming rich were there already.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48Essentially, you know, our lands were under water.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50We couldn't grow grain ourselves.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52So we had to be very early grain importers.
0:07:52 > 0:07:57So we created a fleet of vessels and merchants going for trade.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59So one of the preconditions is having a fleet.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02We had the fleet because we had to feed the people in the country.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05Also, Amsterdam and the Netherlands were a republic.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09The Dutch had the first open society, as we would know it today.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12So a sense of tolerance was there from the beginning,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15which allowed trade...facilitated trade.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18Well-organised, intent on self-governance and powerful,
0:08:18 > 0:08:20thanks to its trading fleet,
0:08:20 > 0:08:25this open-minded city was poised to emerge as the region's major port in
0:08:25 > 0:08:27the mid-16th century.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31What about the relationship between Amsterdam and the rest of the world?
0:08:31 > 0:08:33Because right at the beginning of the 17th century
0:08:33 > 0:08:35you had the formation of the Dutch East India Company
0:08:35 > 0:08:37and that was crucial, wasn't it?
0:08:37 > 0:08:40There were 30 small companies venturing out,
0:08:40 > 0:08:42all making money in the trade in Indonesia.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44And how did they make money? What were they bringing back?
0:08:44 > 0:08:46They would bring back spices, luxury goods.
0:08:46 > 0:08:47But if you do that with 30 companies,
0:08:47 > 0:08:50it won't be profitable for long.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52The rival companies merged
0:08:52 > 0:08:56to form the Dutch East India Company in 1602.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58An astonishingly successful prototype
0:08:58 > 0:09:00for today's multinational corporations.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06Goods, money and art flooded into Amsterdam from around the world,
0:09:06 > 0:09:08ushering in the Golden Age.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13The company was also the first to offer the public
0:09:13 > 0:09:16a chance to invest in its stocks.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21These were originally bought and sold down on the quayside.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24But Amsterdam's traders eventually set up shop
0:09:24 > 0:09:27in this monumental temple to commerce.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33Built in 1898 by socialist architect Hendrik Belage,
0:09:33 > 0:09:35the interior is covered in murals,
0:09:35 > 0:09:39celebrating the efforts of the country's workers.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41This whole space, it's a cafe now,
0:09:41 > 0:09:44but originally it was the main entrance to the building.
0:09:44 > 0:09:49And one of the intriguing details of it are these three ceramic murals
0:09:49 > 0:09:52created by a Dutch artist called Jan Toorop.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55And what's so intriguing about them is,
0:09:55 > 0:09:57within the centre of commerce,
0:09:57 > 0:10:02you have a slightly problematic coded socialist message.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06Now, the way they are divided is into past, present and future.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08And it's an idea of looking at how
0:10:08 > 0:10:11the market has operated over history.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14The first vision is really quite bleak.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18A stern-looking man bartering by exchanging his sword
0:10:18 > 0:10:23for this beautiful naked woman, who partly covers her face in shame.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26And in the background you have a scene of real cruelty of slavery,
0:10:26 > 0:10:29people, humans, pulling along something,
0:10:29 > 0:10:31whilst this fierce-looking face in the background
0:10:31 > 0:10:32cracks the whip to continue.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36It's a sense of... Labour is being abused, frankly.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38And then you come to the present,
0:10:38 > 0:10:41and you find a much more ordered society.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43We've leapt forward millennia.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45Smokestacks, chimneys of factories.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47Trains moving along.
0:10:47 > 0:10:48There's a sense of industry,
0:10:48 > 0:10:51a country that's found the Industrial Revolution.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54It's still not an idealised vision of society.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56But that's what you find in the final mural,
0:10:56 > 0:11:00which tells a biblical story of the Samaritan at the well.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02You have Jesus Christ, offering salvation.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05And in the background, a vision of paradise.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07Men and women acting in concert.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11It's an Arcadian vision of leisure.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15But there are reminders throughout of the costs of capitalism.
0:11:15 > 0:11:16And, as a result,
0:11:16 > 0:11:20a lot of the traders who came and used this building to begin with
0:11:20 > 0:11:22found themselves slightly miffed by the decoration they were
0:11:22 > 0:11:24confronted with every single day.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29The traders also complained of poor heating
0:11:29 > 0:11:32and after only ten years moved to a new building next door.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35Yet a tension between the city's egalitarian idealism
0:11:35 > 0:11:40and its zeal for the riches of free markets continues even today.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46As Amsterdam grew into an international centre of trade,
0:11:46 > 0:11:49a middle class of wealthy merchants emerged
0:11:49 > 0:11:53and moved into new residential areas along the canal belt.
0:11:55 > 0:11:59The city's twin desires for commerce and community had to be contained
0:11:59 > 0:12:02within the buildings themselves.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05You can see why this is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08Amsterdam is known as the Venice of the North.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12It's vibrant and very good for merchants.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14Goods from around the world could be brought up these canals
0:12:14 > 0:12:16and then they could be traded
0:12:16 > 0:12:20and stored in these magnificent houses all along the edges.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25Combining warehouse and family accommodation,
0:12:25 > 0:12:29these homes are a vital way to understand the city better.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31With a low-key monarchy,
0:12:31 > 0:12:34Amsterdam doesn't have grandiose palaces or towers.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38Instead, these homely-looking canal houses
0:12:38 > 0:12:39became its best-known landmark.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44And being an art historian, I love the idea that you can actually date
0:12:44 > 0:12:47these buildings quite specifically from the architectural features.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49On this side of the canal
0:12:49 > 0:12:53you can see three of the most distinctive styles of gables.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57At the end, the step design, originally in the 15th century,
0:12:57 > 0:13:00and they have these very triangular gables.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02But that wasn't fashionable in the Renaissance.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04They didn't like diagonal lines.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08So they introduce these steps in the very late-16th century.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12The one at the other end of the three is known as a neck gable.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16This strong rectangular shape with a pediment on the top.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19And this starts to come in 1640s, 1650s.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22It's a development into the baroque style,
0:13:22 > 0:13:25and what this meant was you could display your wealth
0:13:25 > 0:13:28through the finials and the decorations,
0:13:28 > 0:13:33often picked out in white against the otherwise rather stark brick.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36And then, in the middle of the three, the bell design.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39This lovely graceful shape.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41This really was a sign of great wealth.
0:13:41 > 0:13:46You could have fruits, floriat designs, cartouches,
0:13:46 > 0:13:49all of this decoration up at the top.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52Amsterdam's houses are tall and thin
0:13:52 > 0:13:54because they were taxed by width.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56So people built upwards.
0:13:56 > 0:14:01It's said that middle-class domestic spaces evolved in Amsterdam.
0:14:01 > 0:14:06What we now call a home, a modest domestic space,
0:14:06 > 0:14:10originated with these sorts of narrow, beautiful canal houses.
0:14:13 > 0:14:14Beautiful though they are,
0:14:14 > 0:14:18the rows of flat brick facades make the city seem austere
0:14:18 > 0:14:21and lacking in green space.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24Yet, modern residents know differently.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27And two of them are sharing their secret with me.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30- Hello, Hans. How lovely to see you. - Nice to see you again.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32Nice to see you.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36Architect Hans Witt and costume designer Rien Bekkers
0:14:36 > 0:14:40have allowed me to see what lies behind the narrow brick houses.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43Their beautiful green, private gardens.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46This is amazing.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49So you've obviously done it in a very traditional style.
0:14:49 > 0:14:50It's a really classical style.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53Did you have to research what you were doing with these?
0:14:53 > 0:14:56- No.- I think we were creative enough to decide...
0:14:56 > 0:14:57You could just do it.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00Yes. It's an interpretation of the 17th century.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04In the old times, the owners, and especially the ladies,
0:15:04 > 0:15:08they'd want a lot of shadow, because white was in the fashion.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10It was fashionable. You see, I'd be fine.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12I'd be very fashionable.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17The city's dual personality is built into these homes.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20Tradition and affluence on one side,
0:15:20 > 0:15:23but on the other a desire for individuality.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27One of the things that strikes me about these houses
0:15:27 > 0:15:31is that they actually seem quite conservative, quite traditional.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33And yet, I always think of Amsterdam as this
0:15:33 > 0:15:36super laid-back, really, really liberal place.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39The architecture tells a different story, doesn't it?
0:15:39 > 0:15:41Yeah, especially now it's a world UNESCO,
0:15:41 > 0:15:45so that is very interesting and beautiful that it is protected.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47As an architect, I don't like it so much sometimes,
0:15:47 > 0:15:50because everybody wants to keep it now as it is.
0:15:50 > 0:15:51You're right.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54If you're very conservative about preserving buildings,
0:15:54 > 0:15:57they don't become the documents of change that
0:15:57 > 0:15:59they have been in Amsterdam.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02As welcoming as Hans and Rien are,
0:16:02 > 0:16:06it's time for me to go and meet Alastair in the museum quarter
0:16:06 > 0:16:07in the south of the city.
0:16:09 > 0:16:10Much like today,
0:16:10 > 0:16:14visitors to Amsterdam in the 17th century were stunned by the
0:16:14 > 0:16:16Dutch fondness for pictures.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20Art wasn't only the preserve of the church or aristocracy,
0:16:20 > 0:16:22but collected by everyone,
0:16:22 > 0:16:24from well-off merchants down to craftsmen,
0:16:24 > 0:16:27creating a uniquely fruitful climate for great works.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31And we can't talk about Golden Age painting
0:16:31 > 0:16:34without a visit to the Rijksmuseum.
0:16:43 > 0:16:44My God, it's busy, isn't it?
0:16:44 > 0:16:46Well, it's always busy here.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48We have to fight our way through the crowds.
0:16:48 > 0:16:52- Oh!- But it is, in a way, the heart and soul of Amsterdam.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56This is a very extravagant, almost cathedral-like space, isn't it?
0:16:56 > 0:17:01And what's so interesting is, it's all moving towards this end.
0:17:01 > 0:17:02This is the altar, isn't it?
0:17:02 > 0:17:04The altar of Rembrandt.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06Well, we've come in a side chapel, as it were.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08But if you came right down the nave, the gallery of honour,
0:17:08 > 0:17:12the whole time, you have this great masterpiece, The Night Watch there,
0:17:12 > 0:17:14and you can see it the entire distance.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19Rembrandt's famous civic guard portrait
0:17:19 > 0:17:21is regarded as the superlative example
0:17:21 > 0:17:23of his mastery of light and dark.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26And aptly for Amsterdam,
0:17:26 > 0:17:30his gift for capturing both the individuality of his subjects
0:17:30 > 0:17:32and the strength of the group.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35It is beautifully painted, beautifully executed,
0:17:35 > 0:17:39but I can barely see it because of the sea of tourists.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41This is not my idea of a good time.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43This is a vast museum.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46There are, within this space, lots of less familiar stories,
0:17:46 > 0:17:49which are really worth exploring.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52There are so many other Golden Age treasures here,
0:17:52 > 0:17:54we're going to split up to make the most of them.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58On my way, there's just time to pop in on the painter
0:17:58 > 0:18:02who portrayed Dutch domesticity like no other - Vermeer.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20If the city of Amsterdam today
0:18:20 > 0:18:23seems to be caught between these two twin poles
0:18:23 > 0:18:24of orderliness,
0:18:24 > 0:18:28but also a real sense of permissiveness, liberalism,
0:18:28 > 0:18:31if you go back to the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century,
0:18:31 > 0:18:36you find exactly the same tension defining society then.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39This wall of paintings has to be one of the best-known in the entire
0:18:39 > 0:18:41museum. Paintings by Vermeer -
0:18:41 > 0:18:45you're drawn into this very mysterious, tranquil world,
0:18:45 > 0:18:48which he's so well known for.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51You find a very quiet street scene,
0:18:51 > 0:18:54two people sharing an intimate moment in a household,
0:18:54 > 0:18:59and every single one is suffused with an air of enigma and mystery
0:18:59 > 0:19:03and, of course, they are just exquisitely painted.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07It's tempting to think this is what Dutch Golden Age art often was.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09And it wasn't. There's another Golden Age artist who,
0:19:09 > 0:19:11within the Netherlands,
0:19:11 > 0:19:15is equally famous, but back home in Britain, and elsewhere in the world,
0:19:15 > 0:19:16isn't on the same par.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21And I find it really curious because, here at the Rijksmuseum,
0:19:21 > 0:19:24all of his paintings are shown in the bay opposite this one,
0:19:24 > 0:19:25and that artist's name is
0:19:25 > 0:19:27Jan Steen.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31LIVELY MUSIC PLAYS
0:19:32 > 0:19:36To find out how Steen's work relates to the contradictions in Dutch
0:19:36 > 0:19:41society, I'm meeting sociologist Stephram Bruegel.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44For you, as a Dutchman, Jan Steen is very well known.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46- Oh, yeah.- But for British tourists,
0:19:46 > 0:19:49I don't think people are so familiar with Steen.
0:19:49 > 0:19:50OK. Let's change that.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53Jan Steen, he is the painter of the people.
0:19:53 > 0:19:59He said, "I want to show the life of ordinary people, ordinary life."
0:19:59 > 0:20:02I mean, here, there's a drunk couple who are so inebriated,
0:20:02 > 0:20:04they don't realise they're being robbed.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07And here we have a family clearly getting drunk together,
0:20:07 > 0:20:08including all of the kids.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12Are we supposed to point a finger in judgment or are we supposed to enjoy
0:20:12 > 0:20:14the human appetites which are being indulged?
0:20:14 > 0:20:17From an art historical point of view, we always wonder,
0:20:17 > 0:20:21is this the reality of Jan Steen himself
0:20:21 > 0:20:24or is this his comment on society?
0:20:24 > 0:20:26Today, his name has a really relevant currency
0:20:26 > 0:20:28in the Netherlands, doesn't it?
0:20:28 > 0:20:33Yeah, yeah. We have the phrase, "een huishouden van Jan Steen" -
0:20:33 > 0:20:35"a Jan Steen household".
0:20:35 > 0:20:38We are expressing, "Oh, no."
0:20:38 > 0:20:41The situation seems to be stronger than we ourselves
0:20:41 > 0:20:42but, at the same time,
0:20:42 > 0:20:48there is a humoristic approach on this chaos in the situation.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51If I came round to your house and then said, afterwards, to my wife,
0:20:51 > 0:20:53"Steph's house, it's a bit of a Jan Steen household."
0:20:53 > 0:20:55- Yes.- Would that be quite rude?
0:20:55 > 0:21:00No, not at all. Because if your wife
0:21:00 > 0:21:04would know the meaning of his paintings and this phrase,
0:21:04 > 0:21:08then she would start to laugh and she will tell you,
0:21:08 > 0:21:10"Alastair, you're right.
0:21:10 > 0:21:14"Steph's house is just a Jan Steen household.
0:21:14 > 0:21:15"But come on, let's join the party."
0:21:18 > 0:21:20Very good. I mean, can I come?
0:21:20 > 0:21:22Of course you can come. You're welcome.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24Excellent. I can't even imagine it.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26- I can picture the scene, Steph. - Yeah.
0:21:28 > 0:21:29This national museum
0:21:29 > 0:21:32offers a remarkable window into the prosperous life
0:21:32 > 0:21:36enjoyed by the Dutch during the Golden Age.
0:21:36 > 0:21:37They vied with England
0:21:37 > 0:21:41to be Europe's main importer of exotic luxury goods.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44Merchants bought in millions of pieces
0:21:44 > 0:21:46of expensive porcelain from the East.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49But I'm drawn to a unique ceramic collection
0:21:49 > 0:21:52that reveals a readiness to embrace new trends
0:21:52 > 0:21:54and capitalise on them, too.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59This is a very important pair of objects.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02We're looking at tulip vases.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06The tulip bulbs would be placed inside and the flowers would grow
0:22:06 > 0:22:08out of these spouts.
0:22:08 > 0:22:13What's interesting is that these are inspired by the porcelain
0:22:13 > 0:22:16that they were importing from China.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19Through the Dutch East India Company,
0:22:19 > 0:22:22they were actually able to trade very freely in Chinese porcelain
0:22:22 > 0:22:26and the people of Holland developed a taste for having
0:22:26 > 0:22:29the finest Chinese porcelain on their tables.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33This trade link was halted in the 17th century
0:22:33 > 0:22:36and so they had to come up with their own solution
0:22:36 > 0:22:38and that was Delftware.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41It's made from clay,
0:22:41 > 0:22:42glazed in tin
0:22:42 > 0:22:47and it produces this very distinctive blue and white effect.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49This is the closest thing
0:22:49 > 0:22:52to reproducing the luminous white of Chinese porcelain.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56And you can see that they've even been influenced in the imagery.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58This is very oriental.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00It's designed to pass as an example
0:23:00 > 0:23:04that's been imported from the Far East.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06Inventive and pragmatic,
0:23:06 > 0:23:09the Dutch would export this cheaper imitation around the world,
0:23:09 > 0:23:11even back to China.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16We're halfway through the tour, so time for lunch at the Jordaan.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18Famous for its 17th-century bars,
0:23:18 > 0:23:22which exude an atmosphere that the Dutch call "gezellig" -
0:23:22 > 0:23:25a kind of home-from-home cosiness.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27Alastair, you've got a much more personal connection
0:23:27 > 0:23:29with Amsterdam than me.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31Because your family is partly Dutch, isn't it?
0:23:31 > 0:23:32They are partly Dutch.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35My grandmother was Dutch and, in honour of her,
0:23:35 > 0:23:38I want to show you one of the really traditional
0:23:38 > 0:23:4017th-century brown cafes.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43I guess they're the Dutch equivalent of an English pub.
0:23:43 > 0:23:47There are various Dutch culinary surprises waiting for you to try.
0:23:47 > 0:23:48Oh, wow!
0:23:48 > 0:23:50These are called bitterballen.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54- OK. Yum. - And they're a sort of Dutch snack.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57It's a deep-fried ball of, well...
0:23:57 > 0:24:02- Loveliness.- ..Dutch tastiness and there's also some herring,
0:24:02 > 0:24:06some liver sausage and some very strong, old Dutch cheese...
0:24:06 > 0:24:07- Wow!- ..which you dip in mustard.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09This is not for the faint-hearted.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13But luckily, I am of Polish origin and I can handle my raw herring.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15- Perfect. Look at this. - Oh, my goodness.
0:24:15 > 0:24:16Thank you, let's put those over there.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19That's just to tease me for after the liver and cheese.
0:24:19 > 0:24:20Thank you.
0:24:20 > 0:24:21OK...
0:24:21 > 0:24:23Are they very hot?
0:24:23 > 0:24:25I think they normally are pretty hot, so...
0:24:25 > 0:24:26Mm... Mmmm!
0:24:30 > 0:24:32- Mm! - Once more with feeling!
0:24:34 > 0:24:35They are quite hot.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42This is going so badly!
0:24:42 > 0:24:46My whole childhood memories are being trampled over by you.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48FUNKY MUSIC PLAYS
0:24:50 > 0:24:52With so much still to see,
0:24:52 > 0:24:55I want to get closer to Amsterdam's most famous artistic genius -
0:24:55 > 0:24:57Rembrandt.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02I've come east across town to his five-storey town house,
0:25:02 > 0:25:04bought the same year he painted The Night Watch.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09Mirroring the materialism of his city's Golden Age,
0:25:09 > 0:25:12Rembrandt stuffed his home with possessions,
0:25:12 > 0:25:16but his spending habits eventually drove him to bankruptcy.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20There's no denying the fact that the Rembrandt House is a major tourist
0:25:20 > 0:25:24destination these days, but there's also a chance that I'm going to see
0:25:24 > 0:25:28some etchings, which they don't have on public display,
0:25:28 > 0:25:31to really get a handle, not on Rembrandt the painter,
0:25:31 > 0:25:33that well known public side of him,
0:25:33 > 0:25:35but as Rembrandt the innovative printmaker.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40Rembrandt had to break new ground to get noticed in Amsterdam's
0:25:40 > 0:25:42competitive art scene.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46His carefully restored 17th-century home holds one of the largest
0:25:46 > 0:25:49collections of his prints in the world.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52David de Witt is the chief curator.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54- Hello.- This is a real treat,
0:25:54 > 0:25:56because I know that you've got some prints
0:25:56 > 0:25:57ready for us to have a look at.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59I do. Let's take them out.
0:25:59 > 0:26:00OK. What have we got here?
0:26:00 > 0:26:02Some landscapes.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05So, here, we see a print from 1650.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07It's the landscape with the cow.
0:26:07 > 0:26:12I mean, it does feel, as soon as you get close to it, it sucks you in,
0:26:12 > 0:26:15because of that amount of dense, dense detail.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17What do you think the process would have been?
0:26:17 > 0:26:20A sheet of copper that would have been prepared with a type of resin,
0:26:20 > 0:26:22through which he would've scratched.
0:26:22 > 0:26:26He had developed an extraordinarily high level of facility in working
0:26:26 > 0:26:28directly on the etching plate.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30More so than many of his contemporaries.
0:26:30 > 0:26:35Rembrandt transformed printing into a truly expressive form that could
0:26:35 > 0:26:36capture the spirit of an individual.
0:26:40 > 0:26:42OK, so here's the man himself.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45Rembrandt embarks on a study of human emotions,
0:26:45 > 0:26:48studying all the muscles and the details of the face.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50And he used himself as the model for...?
0:26:50 > 0:26:52And he had himself handy as a model
0:26:52 > 0:26:54and he recognised that there was more
0:26:54 > 0:26:58to be achieved by studying the human face more intently.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00Can I just say, I mean, if you look at this up close,
0:27:00 > 0:27:03it's extraordinary that there is no outline
0:27:03 > 0:27:05which is delineating the face.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07It's all this sort of slightly feathery
0:27:07 > 0:27:09but very small delicate marks that creates that.
0:27:09 > 0:27:14He is thinking, inventing and that's what he's...
0:27:14 > 0:27:17That's the function of these things, is to figure it out.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21And he thereby achieves a level of convincing human expression
0:27:21 > 0:27:22that was, in his own time,
0:27:22 > 0:27:25recognised as being without parallel.
0:27:25 > 0:27:29We're about eight or nine years down the road here.
0:27:29 > 0:27:31This is someone who is entirely self-assured.
0:27:31 > 0:27:33There's much more poise.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36His paintings and portraits and often self-portraits are known
0:27:36 > 0:27:39for their sense of revealing something of the psychology,
0:27:39 > 0:27:41the interior mind and life of the sitter.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44So even in a moment of appearing very confident,
0:27:44 > 0:27:46this is for public presentation,
0:27:46 > 0:27:49you can still see a sense of a life lived.
0:27:49 > 0:27:53Perhaps some hint of former anxieties written into the face.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55That's how Rembrandt saw people.
0:27:55 > 0:27:57FUNKY MUSIC PLAYS
0:27:59 > 0:28:02Not only was Amsterdam a place where artists
0:28:02 > 0:28:04could explore individual identity,
0:28:04 > 0:28:09tolerance of individual belief was also protected here by law.
0:28:09 > 0:28:13After rebelling against Catholic control in the 16th century
0:28:13 > 0:28:15to become a Protestant state,
0:28:15 > 0:28:19the Dutch Republic became far more open to other religions
0:28:19 > 0:28:21and radical ideas than the rest of Europe -
0:28:21 > 0:28:24an attractive place for migrants from all backgrounds.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29One of the biggest immigrant groups was the Jewish community,
0:28:29 > 0:28:31fleeing persecution in Spain and Portugal,
0:28:31 > 0:28:34they brought new cultural energy to the city.
0:28:38 > 0:28:43I'm really impressed by the scale and grandeur of this synagogue.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46In 1675, it was opened -
0:28:46 > 0:28:50all of the members of the council came along to celebrate this event.
0:28:50 > 0:28:52I mean, this shows the Jews not just being tolerated
0:28:52 > 0:28:56but actually being embraced by the people of the city.
0:28:56 > 0:29:00For nearly 400 years, the Jews thrived here,
0:29:00 > 0:29:02but at the outbreak of the Second World War,
0:29:02 > 0:29:07Amsterdam's tolerance came to a brutal end.
0:29:07 > 0:29:09There's a startling statistic.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12There were 140,000 Jews in the Netherlands
0:29:12 > 0:29:16and 75% of those were killed.
0:29:16 > 0:29:22People were informed on, people were turned over to the police.
0:29:22 > 0:29:27The Nazis were doing a very thorough job of wiping out Jewish buildings,
0:29:27 > 0:29:28Jewish artefacts.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31But amazingly, this synagogue survives.
0:29:33 > 0:29:36Fortunately, another important treasure here
0:29:36 > 0:29:39also escaped destruction.
0:29:39 > 0:29:43Founded in 1616,
0:29:43 > 0:29:47Ets Haim is the oldest functioning Jewish library in the world.
0:29:47 > 0:29:52With 560 manuscripts and 30,000 printed books,
0:29:52 > 0:29:55the library holds a diverse selection of text,
0:29:55 > 0:29:56including the Koran
0:29:56 > 0:29:59and works by Erasmus and radical philosopher Spinoza.
0:30:01 > 0:30:05This rare collection offers an insight into the city's history of
0:30:05 > 0:30:07tolerance and integration.
0:30:08 > 0:30:13Curator Heide Warncke has selected some highlights for me.
0:30:13 > 0:30:16- Hi, lovely to see.- Good to see you.
0:30:17 > 0:30:18I'm so excited.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21I'm never happier than when I'm with an old book.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24- That's wonderful. Good news. - This is very exciting.- Yeah.
0:30:24 > 0:30:26What you will see in this congregation
0:30:26 > 0:30:29is that they were always very open-minded
0:30:29 > 0:30:32because they had to convert to Christianity.
0:30:32 > 0:30:34And when they came to Amsterdam,
0:30:34 > 0:30:36it was possible for them to be Jewish again,
0:30:36 > 0:30:39but they had such an open mind about things.
0:30:39 > 0:30:42So in this library you will find a lot of different books
0:30:42 > 0:30:45with a lot of different content in it.
0:30:45 > 0:30:47So this is actually a unique collection for that reason,
0:30:47 > 0:30:48that it is this cosmopolitan
0:30:48 > 0:30:50international collection of Jewish text.
0:30:50 > 0:30:52- Absolutely.- This has caught my eye.
0:30:52 > 0:30:54It's incredibly colourful, isn't it?
0:30:54 > 0:30:56Yes, it's beautiful, isn't it?
0:30:56 > 0:30:57It's the Pesach Haggadah
0:30:57 > 0:31:00and this is read in every family, every year,
0:31:00 > 0:31:02with the Passover feast.
0:31:02 > 0:31:03Printed in Amsterdam.
0:31:03 > 0:31:07What is interesting about this one is that the one who put the copper
0:31:07 > 0:31:11engravings in it, he used the copper plates of Matthaus Merian,
0:31:11 > 0:31:16and Matthaus Merian used the copper plates for Protestant Bible.
0:31:16 > 0:31:17How...? How Amsterdam is that?
0:31:17 > 0:31:18How Amsterdam is that?
0:31:18 > 0:31:20You've got the Protestant Bible
0:31:20 > 0:31:22being printed with the same copper plates
0:31:22 > 0:31:25that the Jewish texts were then reused for.
0:31:25 > 0:31:27That's fantastic.
0:31:27 > 0:31:28Can I just say, though,
0:31:28 > 0:31:31I'm so surprised to see bright colours, painting,
0:31:31 > 0:31:33visuals, in Jewish manuscripts.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36- Yes.- Because, on the whole, they're not illuminated, are they?
0:31:36 > 0:31:38That's right. You're absolutely right with that.
0:31:38 > 0:31:42The Haggadah is the one manuscript or printed book that is illustrated
0:31:42 > 0:31:45and you will see a lot of Christian influences here.
0:31:45 > 0:31:47- Yeah.- For example...- Ah, my word.
0:31:47 > 0:31:51It is very much Christian with the beams of light coming from heaven.
0:31:51 > 0:31:53They're taking inspiration
0:31:53 > 0:31:55from a long tradition of Christian manuscripts,
0:31:55 > 0:31:57- aren't they?- That's right. - What else can you show me here?
0:31:57 > 0:31:59I found, well, you know...
0:31:59 > 0:32:01I've been looking at this on the table.
0:32:01 > 0:32:04We found this in our collection yesterday.
0:32:04 > 0:32:07We're cataloguing all the books here. So, book by book,
0:32:07 > 0:32:09we're taking them out and having a look at them.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12Yesterday you pulled this out of the collection?
0:32:12 > 0:32:14- We found this yesterday, yes. - So this is a true sleeper.
0:32:14 > 0:32:19- Yes.- This is one of those books in a box, waiting to be documented.
0:32:19 > 0:32:22Yeah, yeah. It's a book of psalms from 1538, but look at this...
0:32:22 > 0:32:24SHE GASPS
0:32:24 > 0:32:25Oh, my goodness!
0:32:25 > 0:32:29- I've just got goose bumps. - It's the parchment that...
0:32:29 > 0:32:32- I know what this is.- ..to reinforce the binding and this is,
0:32:32 > 0:32:34I think it's a Latin text, isn't it?
0:32:34 > 0:32:37- It most certainly is.- I would like to know what you think about it.
0:32:37 > 0:32:40This is what's known as endpapers and this is a Christian,
0:32:40 > 0:32:43probably biblical manuscript.
0:32:43 > 0:32:47This sort of transmission of Christian manuscript material
0:32:47 > 0:32:51into another religious group's scriptorium,
0:32:51 > 0:32:53- it's really, really unusual. - Wonderful.- Oh, my goodness!
0:32:57 > 0:32:59By the 17th century,
0:32:59 > 0:33:01one third of all books published in Europe
0:33:01 > 0:33:04were produced here in Amsterdam.
0:33:04 > 0:33:07An unofficial publishing house for the continent's radical thinkers,
0:33:07 > 0:33:11the city had a long history of spawning ideas that challenged
0:33:11 > 0:33:14the authority of church, monarchy and state.
0:33:17 > 0:33:19I'm going to meet one of the Netherlands'
0:33:19 > 0:33:20foremost designers, Irma Boom,
0:33:20 > 0:33:24who continues to uphold Amsterdam's belief in the printed word
0:33:24 > 0:33:26with her own bold ideas of what a book can be.
0:33:29 > 0:33:32An international graphic design star,
0:33:32 > 0:33:34Boom's known as the "queen of books"
0:33:34 > 0:33:36and her work has been shown at MoMA in New York
0:33:36 > 0:33:38and the Pompidou Centre in Paris.
0:33:40 > 0:33:42- Hello, hi.- Hi.- Hi.
0:33:42 > 0:33:44This is your studio, is it?
0:33:44 > 0:33:47Yes. It's always a bit messy
0:33:47 > 0:33:51and I always try to clean it, but it always happens to end up like this.
0:33:51 > 0:33:52And, look, there are loads of examples
0:33:52 > 0:33:54- of the books that you've designed. - Yes.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57Presumably it's stretching back quite a few years.
0:33:57 > 0:33:59Yes. I've made over 300.
0:33:59 > 0:34:00You've made over 300 books?
0:34:00 > 0:34:02- Yes.- Which made your name, if you like?
0:34:02 > 0:34:04Yeah, so we have here the SHV book.
0:34:04 > 0:34:06It's a Dutch multinational.
0:34:06 > 0:34:08The brief was, make something unusual.
0:34:08 > 0:34:12They wanted to make a book based on the notion
0:34:12 > 0:34:16of browsing through the internet. A book which you cannot get hold of,
0:34:16 > 0:34:18so that you have to browse through.
0:34:18 > 0:34:21And is the idea you can approach this from any point
0:34:21 > 0:34:23and take something from it?
0:34:23 > 0:34:27Yes, exactly. It's not the idea that you read it from A to Z.
0:34:27 > 0:34:29It just starts somewhere, maybe at a question.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32So, a very simple thing, but there are no page numbers.
0:34:32 > 0:34:34- No. There's no...- Presumably, there's no index at the back.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37- No.- This was essentially a corporate commission,
0:34:37 > 0:34:41but it's the opposite of a boring, corporate manual.
0:34:41 > 0:34:43You've created something that does feel
0:34:43 > 0:34:45more in the territory of a work of art, really.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48What are some other examples of things you've worked on?
0:34:48 > 0:34:49I know there's a very famous commission,
0:34:49 > 0:34:51- which is the Chanel book.- Yes.
0:34:51 > 0:34:53Which sounds to me, well, practically perverse,
0:34:53 > 0:34:56- because there's no printed words in there at all.- It's embossed.
0:34:56 > 0:34:59They gave me carte blanche, like the SHV book.
0:34:59 > 0:35:00It's just the same, basically.
0:35:00 > 0:35:04- You've given them carte blanche. - And they got blanche, oui!
0:35:04 > 0:35:06- The whole idea is you're invited to touch...- Yes.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09..each page in order to understand.
0:35:09 > 0:35:11For me, it was quite obvious to do it like this,
0:35:11 > 0:35:14because a perfume you can smell
0:35:14 > 0:35:17but you don't see and it's the same concept.
0:35:17 > 0:35:20This is the ultimate book. Imagine a PDF of this book.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23- It's the ultimate... It's an anti-book.- It's white!
0:35:23 > 0:35:25No, it is the ultimate book.
0:35:25 > 0:35:27It's... For me, it is the ultimate book.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30- Why do you say that? - Because it only exists as a book.
0:35:30 > 0:35:33It doesn't exist as a PDF or as any file.
0:35:33 > 0:35:38Only the plates where it's made from is visible.
0:35:39 > 0:35:42Boom frequently collaborates with other Dutch designers
0:35:42 > 0:35:44like Rem Koolhaas and Viktor & Rolf.
0:35:44 > 0:35:47And she recently created the new logo for the Rijksmuseum.
0:35:50 > 0:35:51Have you ever had a book rejected?
0:35:51 > 0:35:55- Oh, yes. - That must be quite difficult.
0:35:55 > 0:35:57Pfft, I don't care.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00I really think, then, I find another victim.
0:36:00 > 0:36:02I will do my thing.
0:36:02 > 0:36:04- It has to...- Another victim!
0:36:04 > 0:36:06Yeah. So there has to be... It has to happen.
0:36:06 > 0:36:09What I have in my mind at some point...
0:36:10 > 0:36:11..it happens.
0:36:18 > 0:36:21I just feel blown away after meeting Irma.
0:36:21 > 0:36:24I thought she was the most inspirational woman,
0:36:24 > 0:36:28because her approach to bookmaking is like nothing anybody has really
0:36:28 > 0:36:33attempted before, just total freewheeling scope and imagination.
0:36:33 > 0:36:35There's a reason I now understand
0:36:35 > 0:36:37that she's known as the "queen of books"
0:36:37 > 0:36:39and thank God that there is somebody
0:36:39 > 0:36:44who's preserving the great tradition of printed matter for the future.
0:36:47 > 0:36:51The next stop at the heart of the old centre is a real treat for me.
0:36:52 > 0:36:57The Oude Kerk, whose bells have rung out since 1306.
0:36:58 > 0:37:02BELLS RINGING
0:37:02 > 0:37:06MAN PLAYS TRUMPET
0:37:06 > 0:37:08BELLS RING THE SAME TUNE
0:37:08 > 0:37:11HE PLAYS THE TRUMPET
0:37:11 > 0:37:16BELLS RING
0:37:19 > 0:37:22HE BLOWS A CONCH
0:37:22 > 0:37:24I'm being serenaded by a conch.
0:37:24 > 0:37:27Yeah. Your husband's never done that, has he?
0:37:27 > 0:37:29Never done that, no. Thank you.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32We've no time to waste if we want to explore
0:37:32 > 0:37:34the full glory of this building.
0:37:36 > 0:37:39It's not just a shrine that marks the birth of Amsterdam.
0:37:39 > 0:37:44It also stands as a document of the battles against church authority
0:37:44 > 0:37:46that would shape the nation's destiny.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53This place makes me very excited.
0:37:53 > 0:37:55It's a parish church, not a cathedral,
0:37:55 > 0:37:58although it looks magnificent and grand.
0:37:58 > 0:38:01It actually has the largest
0:38:01 > 0:38:03surviving medieval timber roof anywhere.
0:38:04 > 0:38:10The church is only here because of a miracle which took place in 1345,
0:38:10 > 0:38:13when Amsterdam was just a small Catholic settlement
0:38:13 > 0:38:15on the banks of the Amstel.
0:38:15 > 0:38:19And it all began with a miraculous host or communion wafer.
0:38:20 > 0:38:22According to this miracle,
0:38:22 > 0:38:26an old man lay dying and he was given the communion host
0:38:26 > 0:38:28as part of the last rites.
0:38:28 > 0:38:32He vomited this up and the vomit went in the fire,
0:38:32 > 0:38:34but the host didn't burn in the fire.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37They took the host out, kept it as a relic
0:38:37 > 0:38:39and what then happens is, repeatedly,
0:38:39 > 0:38:43this old man's house is subject to fire, but it doesn't burn down,
0:38:43 > 0:38:47so it was seen as a truly sacred object
0:38:47 > 0:38:51and this church was built around that miracle, that relic.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54The Oude Kerk became a famous pilgrimage site,
0:38:54 > 0:38:59drawing crowds from across Europe and fuelling the growth of the city.
0:38:59 > 0:39:02The ceiling was richly adorned with paintings representing
0:39:02 > 0:39:05the city's guild members.
0:39:05 > 0:39:07Up here, you can see this was a side chapel
0:39:07 > 0:39:10that was used by one of the guilds of sailors
0:39:10 > 0:39:13and it's a beautiful image of the Virgin and Christ.
0:39:13 > 0:39:15It's known as a pieta.
0:39:15 > 0:39:17It's the moment where the Virgin
0:39:17 > 0:39:19holds her dying Christ child in her lap,
0:39:19 > 0:39:21but it's all taking place on a boat
0:39:21 > 0:39:23and you can see the masts, the sails,
0:39:23 > 0:39:28and either side, two bags of money, where the coins are dripping out.
0:39:28 > 0:39:31It's acting as a reminder that these sailors,
0:39:31 > 0:39:33these Amsterdam traders,
0:39:33 > 0:39:36who are going to the edges of the known world - yes,
0:39:36 > 0:39:41keep one eye on your wealth, one eye on what you're trading and selling,
0:39:41 > 0:39:44but ALWAYS keep an eye on your spiritual wellbeing.
0:39:49 > 0:39:52Meanwhile, I've got access to parts of the church
0:39:52 > 0:39:54that the public rarely gets to see.
0:39:58 > 0:40:02I think, as city breaks go, this is starting to feel genuinely intrepid.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05I'm now quite far up the roof of the old church.
0:40:05 > 0:40:08This is the largest slate roof in Europe, apparently.
0:40:08 > 0:40:10And, of course, what you get,
0:40:10 > 0:40:15as well is a sense of vertigo and slightly being unsure on your feet,
0:40:15 > 0:40:16you have tremendous panoramas of the city,
0:40:16 > 0:40:21so you have an entirely different and new perspective on Amsterdam.
0:40:21 > 0:40:24Over the centuries, as this place was enlarged,
0:40:24 > 0:40:27it was essential to keep a building of this scale maintained
0:40:27 > 0:40:28and, in order to do that,
0:40:28 > 0:40:32you needed to have these fairly secret passageways, ladders,
0:40:32 > 0:40:35staircases, workshops hidden away in the eaves.
0:40:35 > 0:40:38I feel like I've really entered the territory
0:40:38 > 0:40:40of the hunchback of Oude Kerk.
0:40:44 > 0:40:46So if you come up towards the east end of the church,
0:40:46 > 0:40:50there's an inscription here that records a really important moment in
0:40:50 > 0:40:52Amsterdam's history.
0:40:52 > 0:40:56They realigned themselves from Catholic to Calvinist Protestant.
0:40:56 > 0:41:01In the Netherlands, the Reformation is known as the Alteration.
0:41:01 > 0:41:06This was the moment in 1578 when Amsterdam mounted a peaceful revolt
0:41:06 > 0:41:08against the Catholic authorities.
0:41:10 > 0:41:16The errors of God's church that took place are being basically corrected
0:41:16 > 0:41:19in the year '78.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22So it's saying that the Catholic church had slipped
0:41:22 > 0:41:24into some really bad practices.
0:41:24 > 0:41:29They were seen as corrupt, as overreaching in their power.
0:41:29 > 0:41:33Protestantism was about righting those wrongs.
0:41:33 > 0:41:36The Oude Kerk bears the scars of this conversion.
0:41:36 > 0:41:40Most of the church's stained-glass windows were pulled out.
0:41:40 > 0:41:44Ornate decor ripped down and the colourful ceiling painted over.
0:41:47 > 0:41:50One of my favourite things is that, if you walk along,
0:41:50 > 0:41:54it feels like you're in a galleon at sea.
0:41:54 > 0:41:56You're in one of those
0:41:56 > 0:41:59famous ships that the Dutch East India Company
0:41:59 > 0:42:01sent out to the Far East
0:42:01 > 0:42:04and came back laden with riches, because it's so bumpy.
0:42:04 > 0:42:07It feels as though you're moving. And, of course, you're very,
0:42:07 > 0:42:12very high up and you get a reminder every now and then of the
0:42:12 > 0:42:18precariousness of the situation, because...if you see these little
0:42:18 > 0:42:22squares of wood that are on top of the floor.
0:42:22 > 0:42:24If you open them up...
0:42:26 > 0:42:29I didn't realise I had vertigo until I came to do this.
0:42:29 > 0:42:35..you are about 100 feet directly above the floor of the old church.
0:42:35 > 0:42:37You can see it down there.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40And, in fact, I think that might be Nina.
0:42:43 > 0:42:44Nina!
0:42:46 > 0:42:48Genuinely looked up.
0:42:50 > 0:42:54This rare survival, I really wasn't expecting to find in this church,
0:42:54 > 0:42:57are original medieval misericords.
0:42:57 > 0:42:59Have a look here. This is where the carving,
0:42:59 > 0:43:01the secret carving lies underneath.
0:43:02 > 0:43:05Now, what's interesting is that they often feature
0:43:05 > 0:43:07less religious imagery.
0:43:07 > 0:43:09That realm, the heavenly realm,
0:43:09 > 0:43:12that is where all the sacred images go.
0:43:12 > 0:43:15But if you're sitting on something, this is the earthly realm.
0:43:15 > 0:43:20The imagery you get in misericords relates to day-to-day events
0:43:20 > 0:43:22and, sometimes, a fascination with the scatological.
0:43:23 > 0:43:28This character is bending over and excreting.
0:43:29 > 0:43:33And the woman is very carefully pulling out the excrement
0:43:33 > 0:43:37and winding it around this device.
0:43:37 > 0:43:38What is going on here?
0:43:38 > 0:43:41Why is this image in a church?
0:43:41 > 0:43:45Well, it's a moral message, really, that if you pull too quickly,
0:43:45 > 0:43:47you'll break the thread.
0:43:47 > 0:43:50And so, it's encouraging patience.
0:43:59 > 0:44:02Just a few steps away from the Oude Kerk
0:44:02 > 0:44:04is the city's red-light district,
0:44:04 > 0:44:09which has drawn in travellers and traders since medieval times.
0:44:09 > 0:44:13And I think it's only in Amsterdam that you'd find a statue dedicated
0:44:13 > 0:44:17to sex workers standing right in front of its oldest church.
0:44:17 > 0:44:20I'm going to meet former prostitute Mariska Majoor,
0:44:20 > 0:44:24who commissioned this sculpture, at the Prostitute Information Centre.
0:44:28 > 0:44:30Hi, Mariska.
0:44:30 > 0:44:31Hi.
0:44:31 > 0:44:33- Nina.- Nice to meet you.
0:44:33 > 0:44:34So lovely to meet you.
0:44:34 > 0:44:36- Welcome.- This is a great place.
0:44:36 > 0:44:38- It is.- You were involved in Belle.
0:44:38 > 0:44:41Yeah, I feel a bit like her mummy.
0:44:41 > 0:44:44While I didn't make her, she's made by the younger sister of my mother.
0:44:44 > 0:44:48I asked her to make a powerful statue of a strong sex worker
0:44:48 > 0:44:50- standing in her own doorway...- Yeah.
0:44:50 > 0:44:52..with her proud body language, telling the world,
0:44:52 > 0:44:54"Yes, I'm a prostitute. So what?"
0:44:54 > 0:44:58Amsterdam has a uniquely pragmatic way of preserving its
0:44:58 > 0:45:03tradition of tolerance in the face of complex social issues.
0:45:03 > 0:45:05Having legalised prostitution,
0:45:05 > 0:45:09the Dutch also have their own way of accommodating soft drugs,
0:45:09 > 0:45:10called "gedogen",
0:45:10 > 0:45:15roughly translated as "technically illegal, but officially tolerated".
0:45:15 > 0:45:18To me, it's really amazing how the red-light district in Amsterdam is
0:45:18 > 0:45:21right up against the church.
0:45:21 > 0:45:22I can see that on the faces of people.
0:45:22 > 0:45:25You see them looking from the church to the window.
0:45:25 > 0:45:26Then you explain to them
0:45:26 > 0:45:28- that there's also a kindergarten on he same square...- Oh, no!
0:45:28 > 0:45:30..and they go crazy!
0:45:30 > 0:45:32Especially Americans, they go completely crazy.
0:45:32 > 0:45:33People always focus a lot
0:45:33 > 0:45:36on Amsterdam's red-light district and Amsterdam is so evil,
0:45:36 > 0:45:41that they legalise and facilitate visible prostitution.
0:45:41 > 0:45:43- Well, I mean, it's happening everywhere in the world.- Exactly.
0:45:44 > 0:45:47Having worked as a prostitute from the age of 16,
0:45:47 > 0:45:51Mariska now runs workshops to make people think about what it's really
0:45:51 > 0:45:54like in the red-light district windows.
0:45:54 > 0:45:56Oh, I sit here, do I? OK.
0:45:56 > 0:45:58What you have to practise now
0:45:58 > 0:46:01is you have to think a little bit sexy,
0:46:01 > 0:46:04you have to pick a guy that you potentially like,
0:46:04 > 0:46:06not to get married with,
0:46:06 > 0:46:09but you feel quite comfortable with.
0:46:09 > 0:46:11This is quite difficult.
0:46:11 > 0:46:15You don't have to feel physically attracted to somebody, but you must
0:46:15 > 0:46:17think, "OK, I think I can do this with him."
0:46:17 > 0:46:19I've been married for so long, Mariska,
0:46:19 > 0:46:23I think I've forgotten how to flirt! It's virtually... It's impossible!
0:46:23 > 0:46:25Flirting is... It's nice.
0:46:26 > 0:46:28He gave a wave.
0:46:28 > 0:46:31You should not wave like Santa Claus is doing.
0:46:31 > 0:46:32- No.- Not... No.
0:46:32 > 0:46:33Not like that.
0:46:33 > 0:46:35- Not wave at all.- Not wave at all.
0:46:35 > 0:46:37Just say, "Come in."
0:46:42 > 0:46:45We're running short of time. I've asked Nina to meet me
0:46:45 > 0:46:47at another of the city's cultural highlights
0:46:47 > 0:46:49back in the Museum Square.
0:46:52 > 0:46:54I've had a very interesting experience
0:46:54 > 0:46:56- in the red-light district. - I'm sure you have, Nina.
0:46:56 > 0:46:58Yeah, it's really opened my eyes, actually.
0:46:58 > 0:47:00But it did make me wonder a little bit
0:47:00 > 0:47:02about what this means for the culture of Amsterdam
0:47:02 > 0:47:06because, when you remove all barriers, where anything goes,
0:47:06 > 0:47:08how are you supposed to create something
0:47:08 > 0:47:10that's pushing against the boundaries?
0:47:10 > 0:47:12But the two things always exist side by side in Amsterdam,
0:47:12 > 0:47:15don't they? You have that, you have that interest in the illicit,
0:47:15 > 0:47:18if you like, but you also have that sense of orderliness,
0:47:18 > 0:47:21that more bourgeois quality and I think, in cultural terms,
0:47:21 > 0:47:24that can produce some fascinating results, as well.
0:47:24 > 0:47:28I really want to take you inside this building, the Stedelijk Museum.
0:47:28 > 0:47:31This is the museum of modern and contemporary art and the things
0:47:31 > 0:47:34we're going to find in here have an unruliness and an excitement
0:47:34 > 0:47:36- which feels quite illicit, as well. - Hmm.
0:47:44 > 0:47:47The Stedelijk celebrates Amsterdam's special relationship
0:47:47 > 0:47:50with ground-breaking art and design.
0:47:50 > 0:47:53It holds one of the world's largest collections of De Stijl.
0:47:53 > 0:47:56This influential abstract art movement
0:47:56 > 0:47:58was founded at the start of the 20th century.
0:48:01 > 0:48:06Everybody knows about Mondrian, but they don't know about, so much,
0:48:06 > 0:48:09his friend and fellow founder of the Style Movement,
0:48:09 > 0:48:11a man called Theo van Doesburg.
0:48:11 > 0:48:15There's a painting by him over here which you can see is very similar in
0:48:15 > 0:48:19terms of Mondrianesque, same interest in abstraction, geometry,
0:48:19 > 0:48:23a sense of rippling variety of quite simple forms.
0:48:23 > 0:48:24As far as I can see today,
0:48:24 > 0:48:26that's the only work by him hanging on the wall.
0:48:26 > 0:48:28People just don't know about him and, instead,
0:48:28 > 0:48:32it's kind of obscured, anyway, by the Rietveld chairs underneath,
0:48:32 > 0:48:34which are classic De Stijl furniture.
0:48:34 > 0:48:37Essentially, it's like you're sitting on a Mondrian.
0:48:37 > 0:48:40Rietveld was a furniture designer round about 1918.
0:48:40 > 0:48:43He designed these slatted chairs and then, in the early '20s,
0:48:43 > 0:48:45when De Stijl was fully up and running,
0:48:45 > 0:48:48he decided to paint them with these primary colours.
0:48:48 > 0:48:51And it is still interesting to look at this,
0:48:51 > 0:48:53because it feels almost like a pixelated image.
0:48:53 > 0:48:57There's something very much of the future about furniture like this and
0:48:57 > 0:49:00that's why it was considered so successful.
0:49:02 > 0:49:06There's a great installation in this gallery which is the only surviving
0:49:06 > 0:49:10De Stijl interior by the designer Rietveld and it's a bedroom,
0:49:10 > 0:49:13but it's a bedroom like no other I've ever seen.
0:49:13 > 0:49:16The red of the carpet, the yellow of the wardrobe,
0:49:16 > 0:49:19there's a red eiderdown cover over there and blue.
0:49:19 > 0:49:22Such a vision of clean living.
0:49:22 > 0:49:24The only thing I feel here
0:49:24 > 0:49:27is that it's hard to imagine anything exciting
0:49:27 > 0:49:28taking place in a room like this.
0:49:32 > 0:49:34I'm getting to grips with the flipside
0:49:34 > 0:49:36of 20th century Dutch design,
0:49:36 > 0:49:40the Amsterdam School, which was a contemporary movement to De Stijl.
0:49:40 > 0:49:42Curator Ingeborg de Roode
0:49:42 > 0:49:47has come to show me the first-ever survey of its interior pieces.
0:49:49 > 0:49:53I am absolutely enamoured with the pieces I've been walking past.
0:49:53 > 0:49:57Oh, those beautiful purple velvet chairs in there are wonderful.
0:49:57 > 0:49:59Yes, they are great, aren't they?
0:49:59 > 0:50:02Can you tell me a bit about the Amsterdam School?
0:50:02 > 0:50:05It was a new architecture and design style
0:50:05 > 0:50:07with a lot of Expressionist details.
0:50:07 > 0:50:10The interiors were very colourful,
0:50:10 > 0:50:15with beautiful decorated furniture and lamps.
0:50:15 > 0:50:18So it's a full conceptual movement in a way, isn't it?
0:50:18 > 0:50:20It's the architecture of the buildings,
0:50:20 > 0:50:23but it goes right down to not just furniture
0:50:23 > 0:50:25but, as you say, the fabric, the wrought iron.
0:50:25 > 0:50:26Yes, everything, everything.
0:50:26 > 0:50:30Wow! And it's very, very flamboyant, I think.
0:50:30 > 0:50:33Yes, and very much so for the Netherlands,
0:50:33 > 0:50:36because we're always known for our very severe style.
0:50:36 > 0:50:39But this is not severe at all.
0:50:39 > 0:50:42Green and purple and orange
0:50:42 > 0:50:45were THE colours of the Amsterdam School.
0:50:45 > 0:50:49Not the reds and blue and yellow of the Style Movement,
0:50:49 > 0:50:50which was contemporary.
0:50:50 > 0:50:52I love the little details,
0:50:52 > 0:50:54things like the heart accent that's appearing.
0:50:54 > 0:50:58Those very sculptural decorations,
0:50:58 > 0:51:01that is really one of the items of the Amsterdam School.
0:51:03 > 0:51:06I think I've just spotted my favourite piece over here.
0:51:06 > 0:51:09This looks like the most glorious armchair.
0:51:09 > 0:51:11It's one of two.
0:51:11 > 0:51:14So one is decorated with a female, which you see here.
0:51:14 > 0:51:16And the other one, a male person.
0:51:16 > 0:51:19Could you still buy them now?
0:51:19 > 0:51:23Well, yes, sometimes they are on show in auction houses.
0:51:23 > 0:51:25I'll have to keep my eyes peeled,
0:51:25 > 0:51:28because I would love to pick up some Amsterdam School furniture.
0:51:28 > 0:51:29Oh, you can.
0:51:37 > 0:51:40It just leaves me feeling really cold.
0:51:40 > 0:51:42It's like its kept in aspic.
0:51:42 > 0:51:44This is history. It doesn't feel very vibrant.
0:51:50 > 0:51:52I really can't leave the Stedelijk
0:51:52 > 0:51:55without taking a moment to savour one of my
0:51:55 > 0:51:59favourite 20th-century Dutch artists, the flamboyant Karel Appel.
0:52:01 > 0:52:04Well-known for the childlike forms he created
0:52:04 > 0:52:06in the wake of World War II.
0:52:06 > 0:52:09I'm bringing Nina to see Appel's famous mural,
0:52:09 > 0:52:13commissioned for the Stedelijk restaurant in 1956.
0:52:13 > 0:52:15- I've really enjoyed my trip here. - I'm glad.
0:52:15 > 0:52:16I've really enjoyed this museum.
0:52:16 > 0:52:19I thought, as a medievalist, you might be a little bit sceptical.
0:52:19 > 0:52:21I am not opposed to modern art.
0:52:21 > 0:52:23I love modern art. The rapid developments,
0:52:23 > 0:52:26the rapid changes in taste and style.
0:52:26 > 0:52:28What about the Amsterdam School?
0:52:28 > 0:52:31I am in love with the Amsterdam School.
0:52:31 > 0:52:34- Right.- I'm not exaggerating.
0:52:34 > 0:52:37I was lusting after half the furniture in that exhibition.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40I did think, I saw some sort of plush velvet pieces of furniture,
0:52:40 > 0:52:42- they had a slightly Gothy vibe. - Yeah, yeah.
0:52:42 > 0:52:44I thought they might be up your street.
0:52:44 > 0:52:46You thought that was up my street. What did you think?
0:52:46 > 0:52:49I was a bit more lukewarm.
0:52:49 > 0:52:51I thought it was fine. I mean,
0:52:51 > 0:52:54it felt very, very historical to me.
0:52:54 > 0:52:58So you cannot, in any way, disrespect the way they've done it.
0:52:58 > 0:52:59It's a magnificent exhibition.
0:52:59 > 0:53:02It's really comprehensive. There's a lot of scholarship there.
0:53:02 > 0:53:05But I did walk through thinking a little bit like,
0:53:05 > 0:53:06"Hm, not that excited."
0:53:06 > 0:53:09- It didn't grab you.- I mean, look at this. Have you seen this?- I have.
0:53:09 > 0:53:12I've seen some of the Appel stuff and I have to say,
0:53:12 > 0:53:15I know he doesn't have a great reputation,
0:53:15 > 0:53:16and I can kind of see why.
0:53:16 > 0:53:18Is this the best that art can offer?
0:53:18 > 0:53:21This does look slightly like a child's drawing, no?
0:53:21 > 0:53:24I've got kids. There's no way they could paint this.
0:53:24 > 0:53:26Oh, I don't know. Mine could knock this off in an hour.
0:53:26 > 0:53:29- Maybe they're very talented.- Ha-ha!
0:53:29 > 0:53:30The future Appels of tomorrow.
0:53:30 > 0:53:34This, to me, feels boisterous and bohemian.
0:53:34 > 0:53:36Amsterdam School is very respectable,
0:53:36 > 0:53:39a bit bourgeois
0:53:39 > 0:53:42and a bit Art Deco ocean-liner decor.
0:53:42 > 0:53:43Oh...
0:53:43 > 0:53:46Well, we've obviously pitched our camps, Alastair, but you're in...
0:53:46 > 0:53:50- Yeah, we have. Yeah.- ..the bohemian, boisterous end of the spectrum.
0:53:50 > 0:53:53I've always thought so. No-one else has, but I have.
0:53:53 > 0:53:56Amsterdam is much more than the charming old centre.
0:53:56 > 0:53:58So, as we near the end of our visit,
0:53:58 > 0:54:00we're crossing over the IJ to the north bank
0:54:00 > 0:54:03to see the city's continuing legacy
0:54:03 > 0:54:06of innovation and experimentation.
0:54:09 > 0:54:12This is the waterway that all the ships gathered in
0:54:12 > 0:54:14- to bring the wealth into the city. - Yeah.
0:54:14 > 0:54:16And it's interesting that we're leaving the city
0:54:16 > 0:54:18on that same waterway.
0:54:20 > 0:54:22It's almost a relief to see some modern architecture
0:54:22 > 0:54:24after being in the middle of the city.
0:54:24 > 0:54:26Yeah, this feels very cutting-edge out here,
0:54:26 > 0:54:27but we've left a lot behind
0:54:27 > 0:54:30and there is a lot more that I would have loved to have seen.
0:54:30 > 0:54:34We're going to this exciting, vibrant new zone of Amsterdam.
0:54:34 > 0:54:37The NDSM.
0:54:37 > 0:54:41The NDSM wharf was the largest shipyard in Amsterdam
0:54:41 > 0:54:43until it closed in 1984.
0:54:43 > 0:54:46A gateway to the seas that brought the city new ideas
0:54:46 > 0:54:48as well as its forward-looking spirit,
0:54:48 > 0:54:51it was eventually redeveloped, fittingly,
0:54:51 > 0:54:53as a home for artists and artisans.
0:54:57 > 0:54:59I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that this place is vast,
0:54:59 > 0:55:02given that it's a huge shipbuilding warehouse, formerly,
0:55:02 > 0:55:05but the scale of this place is awe-inspiring.
0:55:05 > 0:55:08I can see why, if you're an artist, you'd want to come and set up shop.
0:55:10 > 0:55:15This 20,000 square-metre hanger is known as an art city.
0:55:15 > 0:55:19Creatives working here design and build their own studios out of old
0:55:19 > 0:55:22shipping containers, investing their own time and money.
0:55:22 > 0:55:26It's another example of Amsterdam's successful approach to city planning
0:55:26 > 0:55:30that promotes community and creativity.
0:55:30 > 0:55:34I'm meeting designer Eibert Draisma.
0:55:34 > 0:55:37- Hi, there.- Hi.
0:55:37 > 0:55:40- You've created a whole new world in here.- Yeah.
0:55:40 > 0:55:43I like to have, like, my own secret world.
0:55:43 > 0:55:45- It does feel secret. - Nobody can see what I'm doing.
0:55:45 > 0:55:47This is all so diverse.
0:55:47 > 0:55:50- Are you responsible for this piece of glass?- Yeah.
0:55:50 > 0:55:53I thought it would be interesting to develop a cake stand
0:55:53 > 0:55:55based upon a jellyfish.
0:55:55 > 0:55:57That is extraordinary.
0:55:57 > 0:55:59Most of the things I do are functional.
0:55:59 > 0:56:03It's not just a glass jellyfish, it's a jellyfish cake stand.
0:56:04 > 0:56:07I'm the operator, with my pocket calculator.
0:56:07 > 0:56:10Of course! I'd find this completely compelling.
0:56:10 > 0:56:11Well, thank you.
0:56:15 > 0:56:18Finally, we're going to catch a burlesque theatre show
0:56:18 > 0:56:21on a boat in the former shipyard.
0:56:21 > 0:56:24Before it starts, I'm going to catch up with Alastair on our thoughts
0:56:24 > 0:56:25about the city.
0:56:27 > 0:56:28- Cheers.- Cheers.
0:56:28 > 0:56:30- It's been great.- My goodness.
0:56:30 > 0:56:34Amsterdam has exceeded my already very high expectation.
0:56:34 > 0:56:38Come, come, come to the Semaphores. Come, come.
0:56:38 > 0:56:41I think you started thinking it was all about stag dos, coffee shops -
0:56:41 > 0:56:43that slightly more cliched view of Amsterdam.
0:56:43 > 0:56:46- But we've found quite a lot of other stuff, as well.- Oh, we did.
0:56:46 > 0:56:50And what's really impressed me is the history of the place,
0:56:50 > 0:56:53the sense of it being so self-made,
0:56:53 > 0:56:56so entrepreneurial and forward-thinking.
0:56:59 > 0:57:01I think, also, I've been very impressed
0:57:01 > 0:57:04by the way that Amsterdam seems to understand itself.
0:57:04 > 0:57:07It seems to have a strong sense of what makes it unique.
0:57:07 > 0:57:10It's got a good sense of humour. It understands its underbelly.
0:57:10 > 0:57:12You looked at those amazing Steen paintings,
0:57:12 > 0:57:15the idea of a chaotic society. I looked at misericords.
0:57:15 > 0:57:17It's going right back to the medieval period
0:57:17 > 0:57:20and, yet, they still have this sense of humour about things.
0:57:24 > 0:57:25CROWD CHEERS
0:57:27 > 0:57:30We keep on finding the tension that is Dutch identity
0:57:30 > 0:57:32seen writ large in Amsterdam.
0:57:32 > 0:57:37- Liberalism versus that really Dutch sense of orderliness.- Mm.
0:57:37 > 0:57:40And, to begin with, I felt that this was irreconcilable.
0:57:40 > 0:57:44But, actually, gradually, I think that you need to have both.
0:57:44 > 0:57:48You can't have a sense of designing for the future,
0:57:48 > 0:57:49you can't have revolutionary modern art
0:57:49 > 0:57:53if you don't have something to bounce off, to react against.
0:57:54 > 0:57:56UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS
0:58:00 > 0:58:04And I think that sense of an openness to the outside world,
0:58:04 > 0:58:06a sense of tolerance, of course,
0:58:06 > 0:58:08means that they've always been looking for ways
0:58:08 > 0:58:09to think about the future.
0:58:09 > 0:58:14Amsterdam exploded onto the world stage in the 17th century and it was
0:58:14 > 0:58:16at the vanguard of that phenomenon of urbanisation
0:58:16 > 0:58:18that took over the world.
0:58:18 > 0:58:19Birthplace of modern life.
0:58:19 > 0:58:21That's what this place is.