Windmolen en een ontwerp voor een bonbonblik van de firma Van Houten 1890 - 1946

Cornelis Vreedenburgh made this drawing of a windmill, alongside a bonbon design for the Van Houten chocolate company, probably in the early 20th century. You can almost hear the scratching of the pencil on paper as he sketched! What I love about drawings like this is the thinking-through-making. It’s about getting an idea down, trying it out, and seeing how it looks. There's a real economy of line that I appreciate. Vreedenburgh uses just a few marks to evoke a sense of place and form. Imagine him, sitting there with his sketchbook, perhaps on location, quickly capturing the essence of the windmill and the bonbon design. You can see him experimenting with perspective and proportion as he works. It's not about perfection, but about the process of seeing and recording. He is in conversation with other landscape artists like Jacob van Ruisdael. Artists are constantly building on the work of those who came before.