Gezicht op de Bijlhouwerstoren 1619 - 1690

Anthonie Waterloo created 'Gezicht op de Bijlhouwerstoren', sometime in the 17th century, with pen in brown and gray. The drawing captures a scene dominated by the imposing Bijlhouwerstoren, set against a landscape rendered in delicate washes of gray and brown. Notice how Waterloo employs line and shading to create a sense of depth, drawing the eye from the foreground, with its winding path and figures, to the tower in the middle ground. The trees, rendered with soft, diffuse strokes, frame the scene, adding to the sense of a carefully constructed, almost theatrical space. The tower itself is the anchor, its cylindrical form offset by the angular shapes of the buildings clustered at its base. This interplay of geometric forms against the organic shapes of the landscape is characteristic of Dutch landscape art of this period, reflecting a broader cultural interest in harmonizing nature and artifice. Consider the semiotic dimension of the tower. How does it function as a signifier of power or permanence? Perhaps the drawing isn’t just a representation of a place, but an exploration of themes of history and memory.