Landschap c. 1901 - 1927

Editor: This is "Landschap," a landscape drawing by Johan Antonie de Jonge, created sometime between 1901 and 1927. It's a pencil sketch, very atmospheric... almost like a memory. I wonder what captured de Jonge's attention in this particular scene. What catches your eye in this work? Curator: Oh, I'm immediately drawn to its unfinished quality. It's a peek into the artist's process, that initial dance between eye and hand. Notice how the tree on the right is rendered with such intense, almost frenetic scribbling, while the rest is barely suggested. It makes me wonder what the artist intended to do with the composition. Was it a quick study, a memory, or a step toward something larger? Perhaps it represents how memory works: some details vivid and immediate, others fading into the mist. What feeling does that incompleteness evoke in you? Editor: It feels... honest, I guess? Not trying to be something it isn’t. Like a raw emotion captured on paper. So, you think the sketchiness is deliberate then? Curator: Well, that's the beauty of art, isn't it? We can't know for sure, but the choice – conscious or not – invites us to contemplate the landscape as a fleeting impression. Think of Turner’s sketches, barely there and all feeling... This might be the raw feeling before the paint. Does seeing it as an emotional document change your interpretation at all? Editor: Definitely! It's not just a landscape then, but a landscape *felt*. It feels very modern, actually, that emphasis on feeling over pure representation. I will be thinking of sketches differently from now on. Thank you for this point of view! Curator: My pleasure! It's always exciting to find those unexpected depths in what seems like a simple sketch, isn't it?