Gezicht op een water before 1902

Albert Canfyn made this artwork, whose title translates as 'View of a water', sometime around the late 19th Century. The image, made with shades of grey, depicts the silhouettes of bare trees reflected in water. The light is soft. You can imagine Canfyn looking at the subject in nature. He is not trying to replicate what is in front of him. It's more about feeling, or being in the moment. He's trying to find a way to create a sense of peace and melancholy at the same time. I can imagine him thinking about the work of Corot or Millet. But he's doing something different. The reflections are like a mirror image, yet somehow not quite the same. There's a slight blur, a sense of impermanence, as if the scene could disappear at any moment. Perhaps the artwork relates to a wider conversation about seeing and experiencing, and how the natural world can offer solace and reflection.