Sinterklaas met twee pieten op een dak 1878 - 1943

This graphite drawing of Sinterklaas with two pieten on a roof was made by Willem van Konijnenburg. Just look at these sketched pencil lines, like delicate threads weaving a scene out of thin air! The beauty of this drawing lies in its simplicity. It's just graphite on paper, yet it has such depth. I find my eye drawn to the figure of Sinterklaas. Notice the way his robes are rendered. Are they swaying in the wind? You can see the artist working through an idea, finding the form through a series of tentative marks. It's a process of searching, finding, and refining, right there on the page. This reminds me of the drawings of Alfred Kubin, who embraced the power of line to create dreamlike images. Ultimately, this piece is a reminder that art is about exploration, not perfection. It invites us to engage with the artist's process.