Herinnering aan den feestelijken avond van 19 Junij 1856. In de Nieuwe Baan 1856

Editor: Here we have Augustinus Jacobus Bernardus Wouters' "Herinnering aan den feestelijken avond van 19 Junij 1856. In de Nieuwe Baan," created in 1856, using ink, pencil and watercolors on paper. I'm struck by the drawing's depth; how does Wouters manage to create such a layered landscape? What do you see in this piece, considering its formal elements? Curator: The success lies in its meticulous construction. Notice the careful deployment of light and shadow. The artist segments the picture plane through contrasting application of pencil lines in the foreground that suggest the figures with only little detail and then using softer watercolour in the background elements to show atmospheric perspective and depth. These two main contrast bands, foreground versus background is then enhanced using colour; for example, through the darker foreground and lighter background to give us the sense of receding space. How do these structural oppositions impact our interpretation? Editor: So the arrangement of tonal and color contrasts creates a structured recession of space, but why choose this particular approach to depiction? Curator: Exactly! Consider the implications of dividing the composition. The formal choice echoes a sentiment prevalent in romantic landscape art – the sublime feeling of distance, yet accessibility to an aesthetic experience is given by the event in the foreground. Editor: So it's less about literal representation, and more about how the artist arranges visual elements to create feeling? Curator: Precisely. The work operates on a semiotic level. We could look to structuralism and Lévi-Strauss. Editor: That’s a new perspective for me. Now, thinking about the structured approach, the drawing makes so much more sense. Thank you.