Gezicht op Schiermonnikoog Possibly 1875 - 1876

Editor: This is "Gezicht op Schiermonnikoog," or "View of Schiermonnikoog," thought to be from around 1875, by Jan Daniël Cornelis Carel Willem baron de Constant Rebecque. It’s a watercolor piece and the colors are so muted. It’s lovely, but very understated. I feel a sense of vast space. What catches your eye, though? Curator: Oh, vast is definitely a good word. For me, it's the sky – all that almost empty space above the rooftops. I wonder, was he trying to capture the immense Dutch sky? Did he pause and squint up a bit, feel the North Sea wind on his face before choosing his watercolors? Plein-air painters, like our Baron, were all about that lived-in feeling, and watercolor is great for capturing that atmospheric transience, don't you think? It makes the painting very human somehow. Editor: Yes! It really does seem so immediate. I hadn't really considered the choices implied in plein-air – you're there, wrestling with the weather, the light… Does the slightly washed-out feeling tie in with Impressionism, perhaps? I know that's one of the listed styles. Curator: Exactly! That dissolving form is key to impressionism. The specifics of those buildings aren't important – it's the *impression* of the village nestling in the landscape. What’s intriguing to me is how he simplifies so much. But I bet if you stood on that island today, you could almost find this exact spot. Or maybe not! Time does change everything, even watercolors. Editor: True. Maybe this piece isn’t just a view, but also a bit of a time capsule. Thanks! I think I understand this in a completely different way now. Curator: Me too! Art’s a two-way street, isn't it? We look at the piece, but the piece looks at us and our present experience.