Stoomboot naast een zeilschip 1890 - 1946

Cornelis Vreedenburgh made this sketch, Stoomboot naast een zeilschip, with pencil on paper. I love the immediacy of the drawn line! You get a sense of how the artist has captured the essence of these boats with just a few strokes. I imagine Vreedenburgh outside, his eyes quickly taking in the scene of boats side by side in a harbor somewhere. I like to imagine the way he rendered the sails of one boat with a single stroke, suggesting volume and movement. The details of the boat above feel more mechanical, more solid. This work might reflect an interest in the changing landscape and the evolution of industry that many artists grappled with at this time. It’s like he is asking: How do we reconcile tradition with progress? There’s something so honest and searching in the way he puts marks on the paper.