Stadsgezicht, mogelijk Wijk bij Duurstede Possibly 1906 - 1909

Editor: Here we have Willem Witsen’s "Stadsgezicht, mogelijk Wijk bij Duurstede," likely created between 1906 and 1909. It's a cityscape drawn with pencil and ink on paper. What strikes me most is its rawness; it feels like a fleeting moment captured directly from the artist's sketchbook. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Well, considering Witsen's circle and the social milieu of the Dutch Impressionists, I see a deliberate choice to engage with the everyday. This sketch isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s about labor, the hand of the artist, and the act of production itself. Editor: Production? How so? It looks so…spontaneous. Curator: Precisely! But consider the labor involved in even a sketch. The selection of materials – pencil, ink, paper – each represents a specific commodity, a mode of production accessible within a certain economic strata. Is the "incomplete, sketchy" feel a commentary on the changing urban landscape and industrial output? The deliberate incompleteness hints at something beyond the picturesque. Editor: I hadn't thought about it that way. It's not just about what's depicted, but the means of depicting it and how that reflects society? Curator: Exactly. The act of sketching itself, a relatively rapid and accessible method, becomes a commentary on the fast-changing world. We see the consumption of readily available materials – paper and pencil – turned into art, or at least, a study towards it. Does the casualness of the drawing belie a more profound engagement with the socio-economic conditions of early 20th-century Holland? Editor: So by looking at the materials and the process, we gain insight into the artist's engagement with his world? That's really fascinating! Curator: Precisely! It moves beyond the simple aesthetics to consider art as a product, embedded in a complex web of material and social relations. Editor: I'll definitely look at sketches differently now. It is really powerful to consider the materials used and the means of production.