Boerderij 1890 - 1946

This small etching, Boerderij, by Cornelis Vreedenburgh, is an intimate rendering of a farmhouse made with delicate, scratchy lines. I can almost feel him hunched over the plate, carefully layering those marks to build up the image. The scene emerges from a haze of etched lines, revealing a humble building nestled amongst trees, with a slightly wonky fence in front. I wonder what Vreedenburgh was thinking as he made this? Was he charmed by the simplicity of rural life, or perhaps drawn to the play of light and shadow on the weathered surfaces? There’s a quiet sense of observation in this print, a connection to the everyday that reminds me of other artists who found beauty in the mundane. The way he uses the etching needle to create texture – the rough thatch of the roof, the gnarled bark of the tree – it’s like he’s trying to capture not just the look, but the feel of the place. It makes you want to reach out and touch it, to experience the world through his eyes. That's what art can do; it gets into your blood!