Figuren op een strand 1890 - 1946

Cornelis Vreedenburgh made this drawing, titled 'Figures on a Beach,' with pencil on paper. Look at the clouds, the figures, the sea; what might have been on Vreedenburgh's mind when he drew this scene? I think the sketch feels like it was done from life; I imagine him standing on the beach with his sketchbook, trying to capture what he sees. The marks are so quick and gestural, almost as if he were trying to catch the light as it shifted, or the way the clouds moved overhead. You can see him thinking and exploring what the horizon line might look like, or how to represent figures in motion. I always wonder about the relationship between seeing and drawing; what you choose to include in your composition, and what to leave out. It's like you are editing reality. Drawings like this remind me that artists are constantly looking at the work of other artists, across time, and figuring out what they want to include in their own work, or what they want to push against. We all learn from each other.