Kraan voor laden en lossen aan een waterkant 1890 - 1946

Cornelis Vreedenburgh made this drawing of a crane for loading and unloading on a waterfront with graphite on paper. I just love the way the artist seems to have gone right in, without too much of a plan, letting the image emerge from the quick, scribbled lines. Look at the way the artist captures the light reflecting off the water, using horizontal strokes to suggest the movement of the waves. The texture of the paper becomes part of the drawing, too, adding a kind of rawness to the image. Then there's that crane, a bold diagonal cutting across the scene, with the tiny hook at the end of its arm. You can almost feel the weight of the machine, the tension in its cables. It feels like a memory, a fleeting moment captured with honesty. There is something of Whistler in the atmospheric handling of light and shadow here; both artists share an interest in the poetics of urban and industrial landscapes.