Zeilboot aan een kade c. 1908 - 1923

Ferdinand Oldewelt made this drawing, Zeilboot aan een kade, with graphite on paper, and what grabs me is its tentative, searching quality. It's like Oldewelt is thinking through the image, line by line. Look at how the lines describing the boat aren't definite; they're fuzzy, layered, as if Oldewelt is feeling his way around the form. There’s a real sense of process here, of trying to capture the essence of the boat rather than a perfect representation. That one thicker, darker line near the stern—it's not just a line, it's a decision, a little anchor in a sea of possibilities. This reminds me a bit of some of Guston’s looser, more vulnerable drawings, where the line feels like a record of thought. It's not about getting it "right," but about the journey of seeing and describing. It shows how art embraces uncertainty, and how that uncertainty can be powerful.