Boten op een gracht in een stad by Cornelis Vreedenburgh

Boten op een gracht in een stad 1890 - 1946

0:00
0:00

Copyright: Rijks Museum: Open Domain

This is a drawing called ‘Boats on a canal in a city’ by Cornelis Vreedenburgh. Look at the way the lines seem to dance across the page, searching for the form of the boats and buildings. The artist isn’t trying to capture a perfect image, but something more like a fleeting impression. It's all about the texture here – the grainy feel of the pencil on paper. You can almost feel the artist’s hand moving, as he builds up the image with layers of marks. There's a dark cluster of lines at the bottom right that suggests a boat, maybe? But the image is less about what it represents, and more about the act of representing itself, the process of drawing, of trying to capture a world in lines. Thinking about other artists who work this way, I'm reminded of the way Cy Twombly used drawing, writing and mark-making to create space for free association. Vreedenburgh seems to be inviting us into a space of similar freedom, one where meaning is always provisional, unfixed, always on the move.

Show more

Comments

No comments

Be the first to comment and join the conversation on the ultimate creative platform.