Landschap 1909

Johan Antonie de Jonge made this landscape drawing with graphite, and it’s all about mark-making as a process. The paper is worked, you know? There's a build-up of layered marks, rubbed back in places, that gives a real sense of atmosphere. Look at the lower part of the drawing, the artist has scrubbed the graphite into the paper in horizontal strokes creating a feeling of mist rising from the land. The pressure and density of the marks vary which creates a sort of vibration on the surface, pushing and pulling your eye across the image. I think de Jonge’s use of graphite reminds me of some of James McNeill Whistler's atmospheric nocturnes, which have the same ethereal quality. It shows how art is always in conversation with itself, echoing and transforming across generations.