Figuren bij een bosrand 1848 - 1888

This is Anton Mauve’s charcoal drawing, Figuren bij een bosrand, in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. The drawing immediately strikes us with its bold contrast in textures and the stark interplay between light and dark. Mauve creates a dense, almost impenetrable thicket to the left, achieved through a concentration of dark, smudged charcoal lines. This contrasts sharply with the right side of the composition where delicate, wiry lines sketch out the forest's edge, allowing light to permeate through the branches. The juxtaposition destabilizes any fixed notion of the landscape. The figures alluded to in the title are almost subsumed, or hidden, within the abstract landscape. The sketch challenges our expectations, engaging with a new way of thinking about representation where the traditional subject merges with its environment. The power of Mauve’s sketch lies in its ability to evoke a sense of place through line and texture. This transforms the representational function of drawing into an exploration of form, anticipating the dissolution of traditional form in modern art.