Ruiter en vee voor een heuvel met een toren 1914 - 1916

Willem Cornelis Rip created this pencil drawing, Ruiter en vee voor een heuvel met een toren, which translates to Horseman and cattle in front of a hill with a tower. The composition immediately directs our attention with a contrast between the softness of the graphite and the sharp, angular lines that define the hill and tower. The figures in the foreground—the horseman and cattle—are rendered with a similar lightness, creating a sense of movement. Rip’s technique invites a semiotic interpretation. The sketchy lines do not aim to provide a realistic representation, but rather to convey a set of signs that the viewer pieces together to form an image. The tower, a historical symbol, is not presented in its solidity but appears almost as a crumbling idea. The horseman and cattle, rendered quickly, suggest a fleeting moment. Consider how the sketch destabilizes the traditional landscape genre. Instead of offering a clear, picturesque scene, it challenges our expectations, prompting us to consider the themes of temporality, memory, and the act of seeing itself.