Huizenrij in Amsterdam 1870 - 1923

Curator: "Huizenrij in Amsterdam," or "Houses in Amsterdam," is an arresting sketch attributed to Willem Witsen, created sometime between 1870 and 1923. It's currently held here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: Gosh, it's moody, isn't it? It looks like it could be a half-remembered dream of Amsterdam—all hazy shapes and lurking shadows. Curator: The materiality certainly contributes. It seems to be charcoal or pencil on paper, judging by the granular texture. Note the deliberate, yet rough strokes—lines used more for suggestion than exact representation. The architecture is present, but almost dissolving. Editor: Yes! It's there but fleeting—like the city might vanish if you look away. Those vertical strokes, grounding the buildings, could also be rain, maybe? Is it that ambiguity that pulls me in? Or, is it just my gloomy disposition today? Curator: That ambiguity, as you put it, creates a dynamic tension. The composition itself is structured around these verticals. It's also interesting how Witsen plays with the negative space around the structures, allowing the buildings to breathe, almost as if he is trying to grasp the urban environment. Editor: You're making me see it now; I keep coming back to how immediate and intimate this feels. It is like stumbling upon someone’s personal sketchbook—a quick impression captured before it disappears! Makes you wonder what Witsen was thinking, or feeling that day. Was it raining for real? Or maybe it was just the looming specter of change, transforming the familiar into the ephemeral? Curator: The open-ended narrative resonates. Whether intended or not, it evokes the ceaseless flow of time, a central theme of modernity. Editor: Makes me wanna grab my own sketchbook and get lost in some old neighborhood. Thanks, Willem. Curator: Indeed. It's a poignant reminder of the power of the sketch to convey a city’s—and an artist's—soul.