Landschap met boerderijen en een molen 1907

Willem Cornelis Rip made this drawing of a landscape with farms and a mill with graphite on paper, sometime around the late 19th century. Look how the drawing emerges from a whisper of lines, barely-there suggestions of form. It's like Rip's feeling his way through the scene, letting the pencil lead him. There’s a real tenderness in the way he renders the trees, using these short, broken strokes that somehow capture the essence of foliage. And see how the buildings are just hinted at, blocks of shadow that anchor the composition? Rip seems to be thinking about weight and volume. The texture of the paper peeks through, adding another layer of visual interest, reminding us of the physical act of drawing itself. This approach reminds me a bit of Corot, that sense of capturing a fleeting moment, an impression of light and atmosphere. It's all about the process, the journey of the hand across the paper.