Boten op de Theems 1888 - 1891

Curator: Willem Witsen’s “Boats on the Thames," sketched between 1888 and 1891, offers us a peek into the artist’s notebook. It's now housed right here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: Immediately, I'm drawn to its… looseness? It feels less like a formal study and more like a fleeting impression, captured quickly. The scratchy lines almost vibrate on the page. Curator: Precisely. Witsen was clearly interested in capturing the essence of the scene, not necessarily its exact likeness. Think about the labor involved— a city defined by industry rendered through such a quick and arguably "messy" medium. He reduces these massive vessels and docks to simple pen strokes. Editor: Yes! I’m thinking about the weight of those boats and docks versus the ephemerality of ink on paper. It points to a wider debate during that time - what's art, what's craft, and who gets to decide? The boats feel almost sketched out, light to heavy. Curator: I see a lovely tension there too. What appears initially like a simple sketch also reflects, to my mind, a deeper understanding of form and space. He plays with the light along the Thames, which shimmers and feels alive through these raw markings. I almost feel like he's trying to capture that essence with just a few flicks of the wrist. It's lovely, but also kind of raw, doesn't it feel a little like a fleeting dream to you? Editor: A dream is interesting... perhaps a capitalist's dream? A city running at its peak through manufacturing and industrial processes? The repetition of the arches down below also emphasizes the infrastructure that makes the Thames so essential to London's function as a center for trade during that time. It's all about materiality! I love the class tension that is suggested when thinking about this sketch as almost too informal - it questions high and low art and I think those debates are so fun. Curator: Exactly—high and low. It's funny, you see all the grand machinations, and I simply sense the atmosphere... Thank you for bringing new light to it. Editor: And thank you, always, for seeing past the structures to the whispers beneath.