Scheepswerf 1890 - 1946

Cornelis Vreedenburgh’s 'Scheepswerf' unfolds a black and white scene with etched lines mapping the site of construction. I'm wondering about the artist here, outside, watching the maker at work—a mirror of his own process, maybe? The etcher carefully marks the metal, a deliberate and controlled gesture, not unlike the precise planning that goes into constructing a ship. Look at the intricate rendering of the wooden planks, the tools scattered around, and the figure diligently working. The whole thing feels so tactile, so real, almost like you could reach out and touch the roughness of the wood, the grit of the ground. That etched line? It’s like the artist is wrestling with his own medium. The subject matter connects Vreedenburgh to a much larger conversation among artists throughout time, each of them trying to capture a bit of the world and distill it onto a surface.