Landschappen met water c. 1846 - 1851

Curator: This pencil drawing, aptly titled *Landschappen met water*, which translates to Landscapes with Water, comes to us from the hand of Willem Roelofs, dating around 1846 to 1851. Editor: It's immediately evocative. Almost hazy, dreamlike. The composition, even in its unfinished state, pulls you into this serene, watery place. I feel a stillness emanating from the page. Curator: Roelofs was deeply involved with the art world and nature. As a key figure, and a part of a transition period from romanticism towards the Hague School style of painting. One thing about Roelofs is how devoted he was to *en plein air*, so artworks like these were made as practice to paint real scenes on site. Editor: Right, these rapid strokes definitely speak of immediacy and direct engagement with nature. It almost feels like I’m seeing the world through Roelofs’s eyes as he quickly tried to register all that the Dutch landscape could give. How can one describe this raw kind of art, a window for its sensibility, but from centuries ago? Curator: That’s the magic of the Romantic period, this intense relationship with landscape became, to many, an intimate expression. Nature was a vehicle for their emotions. One must only visit a few landscape expositions in the Dutch Golden age, for example, to see how the population started developing that love, with a sense of pride. Editor: Which makes total sense to me, actually! To give this work another look, I understand that some viewers may only see unfinished art. However, that raw, in-progress sentiment is what gives the final touches, what makes *Landschappen met water* beautiful for my senses, an early dance, a first sketch. And its roughness—with some of the drawing escaping into other sheets within what seems to be a sketchbook—gives an additional human feeling. Curator: You've framed this artwork eloquently; these works gave the possibility of a strong personal engagement in art. It almost democratized artistic engagement. These drawing books can now be seen at the Rijksmuseum. It invites the spectator to consider nature as a source of beauty that we need to admire every moment. Editor: Indeed! A brief moment turned into a window of opportunity to look inside ourselves.