Gezicht op de Voorstraatshaven te Dordrecht c. 1898 - 1900

Curator: Here we have Willem Witsen’s "Gezicht op de Voorstraatshaven te Dordrecht," a drawing likely created between 1898 and 1900. Editor: It has the feeling of a half-remembered dream. Ghostly architecture, a small boat resting… it feels incredibly intimate, like stumbling upon someone's private thoughts. Curator: Precisely. It’s crafted using pencil and pen and ink, which gives it this very immediate, sketch-like quality, emphasizing the directness of Witsen's observation. I find that fascinating. Editor: The city depicted feels like a collection of facades and surfaces. All these notations, which make this composition look almost ephemeral— as if ready to be erased by the tide any moment. I would say there are many symbolic layers here. Curator: He seems interested less in photorealistic depiction, and more in distilling the essence of place, and capturing a feeling. I imagine a breezy day at the Voorstraatshaven when looking at this, which really speaks to me. Editor: It could also symbolize impermanence. Note the placement of windows as 'eyes' upon the buildings. Windows are traditionally regarded as the point where external world meets the internal life within. Do these half-realized houses actually "see"? The almost translucent presence of the vessel gives one the impression of a phantom ship from another time that carries cargo from another dimension... Curator: Or it could just be, you know, a dock scene. This raw, untouched feel hints at how much Witsen valued the immediate, uncensored thought. The sketchiness gives it energy and motion. Editor: Yes, but its incompleteness can be understood as a commentary of the fragmented nature of memory. After all, cities also live in human minds as sets of overlapping personal landmarks... Curator: Well, whatever the reason for his decision making, the sketch makes you wonder. And this "Gezicht op de Voorstraatshaven te Dordrecht" lets us partake in that private moment of observing. Editor: Agreed. To think, this tiny sketch is a doorway into the artist’s vision – or perhaps, into our own subconscious imaginings. Food for thought!