Korenschoven op een veld 1883 - 1922

This is a drawing of sheaves of wheat in a field, by Johanna van de Kamer. It's hard to say when it was made exactly, but it has the spirit of the late 19th, early 20th century. The quick, light marks that describe the wheat field are laid down so simply. You can sense the artist looking, sketching, and trying to find some essence of the landscape and its rhythms. What I love is the way these small marks can evoke the whole. See how the horizontal lines suggest the field stretching out, and the vertical, slightly curved ones give us the sense of the wheat itself? The economy of line is beautiful. It reminds me of Van Gogh's drawings, where he used marks to build up a feeling of atmosphere. Ultimately it is a piece that shows us how much can be said with very little. Art is conversation, it's influence, and it's the ongoing search.