Gambar, koffie-en rubberplantage met de vulkaan De Kloet c. 1921

This landscape, ‘Gambar, koffie-en rubberplantage met de vulkaan De Kloet’ was made by Willem Witsen at an unknown date using paint on cardboard. It's the kind of painting that makes you want to slow down and look closely. At first glance, the colour palette is dominated by browns, which might seem limiting, but Witsen coaxes a surprising range of tones from them. Look closely, and you'll see how the brown shifts and changes across the cardboard surface. The paint seems thin, almost like a wash, allowing the texture of the cardboard to show through. It feels as though the artist is not trying to create a perfect representation but rather to capture a fleeting impression. The volcano in the background is rendered with a few simple strokes, yet it still manages to convey a sense of scale and presence. The more you look, the more you see, and the more you appreciate the subtle beauty of this understated landscape. The expressive use of tone reminds me of James Whistler's atmospheric nocturnes. Ultimately, Witsen shows us that sometimes, less really is more.