Studie c. 1888s

Curator: What an evocative drawing. This is "Studie," a pencil sketch by Willem Witsen, dating back to the late 1880s. It’s currently housed here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: Raw, unfinished—a little gloomy, if I’m honest. There's something very stark about it. The severe use of graphite on the tan paper really gives it a melancholy feel, a visual minor key if you will. Curator: It's a fascinating exercise in form. Note how Witsen uses only the barest of lines to suggest a landscape, focusing on shapes and tonal values, more than detailed representation. That cloud formation almost seems oppressive. Editor: You're right about that oppressive quality! But look at the angle of the horizon line! How sharply it's suggested in relation to that strong, almost violent application of graphite to render what I assume are the trees or heavy scrub brush. What a clash of artistic ideas! Curator: The Impressionist influence is evident here, certainly. This emphasis on fleeting moments, rendered quickly. Witsen really captured the mood, that very specific light and air of the Dutch landscape. Notice also, how this emphasis on visual impression seems to reject or refuse clarity and order; that gives rise to the sort of unsettled and incomplete feelings you had. Editor: Exactly! It's more about feeling than seeing, a whisper of a scene rather than a declaration. It really speaks to the transient nature of observation, doesn’t it? What is present on one viewing can change and move with a mere blink of an eye. Curator: Absolutely. Witsen here challenges us to complete the scene with our own imaginations, to project our own emotional landscape onto his rendering. It feels like a conversation more than a presentation. Editor: Well, I, for one, love the way that the drawing, just with what appears to be very simple marks, creates so many ideas within a viewer. Something almost everyone can respond to. Thank you. Curator: Thank you! This piece helps to see beauty even in the most elemental and somewhat sad.