Koe 1890 - 1946

Here we see Cornelis Vreedenburgh’s ‘Koe’, made with pencil on paper. Just a few lines map out a cow, it could be any cow, but it’s this cow. I can almost see Vreedenburgh’s hand moving quickly, trying to capture the essence of the animal before it moves or loses its charm. The lines are dense, layered in some areas, and sparse in others, which gives a sense of volume. He shades the body of the cow to give it weight, while leaving the page bare elsewhere. It feels like he’s thinking, what is essential here? What can I leave out? It reminds me of other artists who sketched animals, like Franz Marc, but with a simpler feel. You know, every artist is looking at what others have done, riffing, expanding, or pushing back. The beautiful thing is that this drawing invites us into that conversation, where there's no right or wrong answer, just a shared moment of looking and thinking.