Duinlandschap, met kleurnotities 1876 - 1924

Gerrit Willem Dijsselhof made this landscape drawing with color notations using graphite on paper. The artist uses hatching and cross-hatching to give dimension to the sand dunes of the Dutch landscape. Dijsselhof used an economy of means. The graphite marks range from very light to quite dark, creating a full range of values. The artist suggests a scene with a few basic strokes. This choice emphasizes the inherent qualities of the material, and the texture of the paper. The notations indicate a plan to record more information to be used for a color painting at a later stage. Graphite is a mineral processed through industrial manufacturing. This mass production democratized drawing allowing for artists like Dijsselhof to experiment with new ways of seeing. Dijsselhof collapses the boundaries between art and craft, design and production. He draws our attention to the inherent qualities of materials, and how this impacts the way we see and understand the world around us.