Oude schuur in landschap 1890 - 1937

Cornelis Vreedenburgh made this etching of an old barn in a landscape without any colours. It’s all these delicate scratches and lines, like he’s feeling his way through the scene, one tiny mark at a time. I'm picturing Vreedenburgh outside, squinting in the sun, trying to capture the way the light hits that thatched roof. The barn leans a little, doesn’t it? Like it’s been there a while, settling into the earth. Look at how he's made those tiny, almost invisible marks in the sky. The whole thing feels quiet, a bit melancholic. It reminds me of other painters who were out there in the fields, like Van Gogh, trying to get something real down on paper. There’s a whole conversation happening between artists across time, isn’t there? A sharing of ideas, of ways of seeing. And that’s what keeps it all alive, this constant back and forth.