Auto op een bomenlaan 1890 - 1946

Cornelis Vreedenburgh’s “Auto op een bomenlaan” is a drawing, likely done on site. The pencil is alive with an almost nervous energy, the quick strokes building up to suggest the shapes of trees, a car, a lane. It feels like a fleeting moment caught on paper. Look at the way the artist uses hatching, those tiny parallel lines, to create shadows and volume. There's a beautiful contrast between the dense, scribbled areas and the open, airy spaces. The whole thing feels provisional, like a sketch, but it’s also complete in its own way. It's that openness, that sense of the artist thinking through the image as they draw, which gives the work its charm. I am reminded of drawings by Bonnard, who also had a knack for capturing the feeling of a place with just a few lines. Both artists remind us that sometimes the most powerful art is the art that feels closest to the artist's hand.