Gezicht op Sint-Jacobuskathedraal, te Šibenik 1847

This is a print of the Cathedral of St. James in Šibenik, created by Dirk Wijbrand Tollenaar. Note how the cathedral dominates the composition, its solid form rendered with precise lines that delineate each stone. This meticulous detail creates a sense of architectural weight and permanence. Tollenaar’s use of line is crucial here. He employs hatching and cross-hatching to model the cathedral, casting shadows that give depth and volume to the facade. The symmetrical structure, bisected vertically, encourages a reading of balance and order, yet this symmetry is disrupted by the adjacent buildings, hinting at the integration of the sacred within the urban. The print flattens perspective, emphasizing surface over depth, and this challenges traditional modes of representation. Tollenaar's print becomes a study in the tension between architectural precision and artistic interpretation, capturing the cathedral not merely as a building, but as a complex interplay of form, line, and spatial relationships.