Landschap met zeilboten op een kanaal 1890 - 1946

Cornelis Vreedenburgh made this understated drawing of sailing boats on a canal with pencil on paper. The all-over linear approach to mark-making is interesting. It’s like, the artist is thinking through the medium of line. There's no attempt to hide the process, everything is laid bare, the materiality of the pencil on paper. You can almost feel the artist's hand moving across the surface. Look at the way the clouds are rendered with these delicate, almost hesitant lines. It’s like he's trying to capture the ephemerality of the sky. And then, the darker, more insistent lines that define the boats – there's a real sense of weight and mass there. It reminds me a little of some of Boudin’s quick sketches of figures on the beach, but with a quieter, more contemplative mood. Ultimately, it feels like a conversation - not just about seeing, but about thinking and feeling.