Heuvellandschap met keien en struiken 1890 - 1946

Curator: This is Cornelis Vreedenburgh’s “Heuvellandschap met keien en struiken,” or “Hilly Landscape with Boulders and Shrubs,” believed to be created sometime between 1890 and 1946. It resides here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: My immediate response is to the stark simplicity of it. The almost brutal strokes of the pencil give a rawness to the landscape, quite different from the often idealized representations we see. There’s a tension between the detailed foreground and the sketchier, almost vanishing background. Curator: Indeed, Vreedenburgh created this drawing in a period that saw significant social upheaval. The turn of the century was marked by industrialization, urbanization, and a questioning of traditional values. It makes you wonder if the starkness isn't just an aesthetic choice, but also reflects the uncertainties of the era. Was he using the landscape to capture the feeling that so much was being uprooted at the time? Editor: Interesting. Considering only the forms, I'm drawn to how Vreedenburgh uses light and shadow. The strong contrast in the lower right emphasizes texture. It's a play of hatching and cross-hatching to give dimension where at first you might think there isn’t any. See how he manages to suggest volume and depth with these very minimal means? Curator: Yes, and his choice to render the foliage with such density—almost like dark, brooding masses—makes the work particularly striking. One can almost feel the weight and texture of those shrubs against the implied vastness of the landscape. We can look into Vreedenburgh's broader practice of realism, looking beyond surface appearances, into revealing some of the realities and the conditions that produced what one might casually regard as picturesque. Editor: I see it too. There's this wonderful balance he achieves. The dynamism within his restricted tonal range brings such intensity to the sketch. It avoids sentimentality while achieving great depth. Curator: It reminds us that a drawing like this can tell more than just the scenery; it mirrors its period's soul. Editor: I'll agree—seeing how those strokes capture so much, truly making one reconsider the impact a simple material and skill can create.