Landschap met bebouwing 1884 - 1927

Johan Antonie de Jonge made this landscape with buildings presumably on site, using pencil. Look at the way he's built up the scene through layers of marks, almost like he’s feeling his way through the landscape. The left-hand side of the composition has a greater concentration of pencil marks and a greater sense of tonal depth; the right is more open, light, and airy. The texture of the paper plays a huge role here; the weave showing through, adding to the sketch-like feel. Notice how the foreground almost dissolves into abstraction. There’s an incredible sense of freedom in the way the artist uses line, creating a dynamic and immersive scene. The marks seem to suggest movement and the passage of time. There is a definite comparison to be made with the sketchbooks of Van Gogh, made a few years earlier. You can see a similar interest in landscape, and a commitment to an art of process.