Landschap met bomen c. 1886 - 1890

Curator: This evocative landscape scene is brought to us from the sketchbooks of Maria Vos, created circa 1886-1890. It resides here at the Rijksmuseum, offering us a glimpse into her artistic process. Editor: It feels like a breath of fresh air! All these spindly trees sketched so rapidly…I can almost feel the wind whipping around me, the ground a bit damp under my feet. Curator: Absolutely. Consider Vos's position as a woman artist navigating the late 19th century. The intimate nature of the sketchbook allows a space free of the constraints of academic painting—a space for uninhibited expression and perhaps quiet rebellion. The swiftness and simplicity speaks of this liberation. Editor: I dig that! It’s raw. No pomp, just feeling. This could've been just a moment grabbed while hiking, but there’s a certain intensity in the marks that feels like more. Like the very bones of the trees are being captured. Curator: Exactly, and it's through these details—the thin lines and suggestive shading—that we can contextualize the artwork as experimentation in her repertoire. Vos had formal training, yet this piece rejects highly polished refinement in favor of capturing fleeting atmospheric conditions and emotional responses. Editor: Yeah! I see the light in the clearing, even though it's just sketched. The economy of her lines makes it poetic almost. I bet she smelled wood smoke, don’t you? Curator: Perhaps, it prompts us to consider how traditional landscape art excluded so many voices—especially female voices—and practices like sketching were a vital part of renegotiating those limitations. Editor: Makes me want to grab a sketchbook and disappear into the woods! There is an immediacy to the piece, this “Landschap met bomen," as its called—or "Landscape with Trees"—that’s both comforting and invigorating, like watching nature awaken after a long winter. Curator: Well said! It offers a potent reminder that even seemingly minor works can provide crucial insights into the evolving landscapes of art history and identity. Editor: It's more than a sketch; it’s a feeling!