Achtergevels van huizen aan de Warmoesstraat 1890 - 1946

Cornelis Vreedenburgh made this drawing of the back of houses on the Warmoesstraat with pencil. Looking at this sketch, I imagine Vreedenburgh standing there, feeling the weight of his pencil, trying to capture the texture of old walls. You know, the way surfaces tell stories of time and weather. I bet he was thinking about how light plays on these surfaces, how shadows can be just as important as the lines themselves. See how the lines are a bit wonky? I love that. It's like he's saying, "I'm not trying to make a perfect copy, I'm trying to capture the feeling of this place." It reminds me of other artists who aren't afraid to let their hand show, like Twombly with his scribbles, or even Guston when he got all cartoony. It makes you wonder about all the unseen, unacknowledged drawings and sketches artists leave behind, and how they all connect, like an infinite game of telephone.