Ophaalbrug over een kanaal in een stad 1890 - 1946

Cornelis Vreedenburgh made this drawing of a bridge over a canal, with a pencil, probably en plein air. I can almost feel the breeze and hear the water lapping against the stone. There’s a real sense of place in this sketch. He’s captured the stillness of the buildings, the way the light catches on the bridge's surface. I imagine Vreedenburgh standing there, squinting in the sun, quickly marking down what he sees. The way he’s used short, broken lines to suggest the texture of the stone, and the slightly heavier marks to give depth to the shadows, it’s all really effective. I wonder if he was thinking of the Dutch masters, their attention to detail and light. I bet he was out there drawing all the time. It’s like he’s saying, "Look, this is what matters, the everyday, the beauty in the ordinary." And in that way, he invites us to see the world a little differently too. There is nothing better than to be in conversation with artists, alive or dead, and to steal their genius.