Dak van het pand Korte Dijkstraat 2 in Amsterdam before 1909

Willem Witsen made this drawing of the roof of a building in Amsterdam using what looks like pencil on paper. You know, it's funny how a simple sketch can sometimes feel more alive than a highly polished painting. The texture here is all in the lines. See how they build up, layer upon layer, to create a sense of depth and shadow? It's like he's feeling his way through the scene, letting the pencil lead him. Notice that scribble of dark shading under the eaves - it looks like the artist has gone over and over the same area to produce a rich visual field. This kind of process reminds me a little of Cy Twombly. Both artists use a kind of restless mark-making to capture a sense of movement and change. Witsen's drawing isn't about perfect representation, it's about the act of seeing and recording, embracing the messy, imperfect beauty of the everyday.