Dorp op een heuvel aan zee c. 1936

Cornelis Vreedenburgh made this drawing of a village on a hill by the sea using graphite. I can just see him there, a bit windswept maybe, quickly sketching what’s in front of him. It’s like a visual shorthand, isn't it? Those thin, descriptive lines are like he's mapping out the essentials. The village and the sea, they're almost mirrored, creating this sense of balance. It's not about perfect representation, but more about capturing the essence of the place. And what did it feel like to make it? Was the wind in his face, did he stop for a coffee afterwards? It makes me think of other artists, like Twombly, who embraced this kind of expressive mark-making. There’s a real lineage of artists responding to what they see and feel, isn’t there? Each one building on the last, and inspiring the next. That's the beauty of art, it's always in conversation.