Figuurstudies c. 1935 - 1936

Cornelis Vreedenburgh made these figure studies in pencil, but we don’t know exactly when. What strikes me is the immediacy of the marks. It’s all about gesture, capturing the essence of form with as few lines as possible. You get a real sense of the artist at work, almost like you’re looking over their shoulder as they rapidly sketch. The pencil lines themselves are quite delicate, creating a kind of ephemeral quality. See how the artist uses broken lines and shading to suggest volume and depth? It’s as if the figures are emerging from the page. The seated figure in the lower part of the frame feels like it is drawn with a slightly heavier hand, which anchors it to the page. Vreedenburgh’s sketch reminds me of Matisse’s drawings, where line becomes a way of feeling and understanding the world. It’s not about perfect representation, but about capturing a sense of movement and vitality. This is art as process, an ongoing conversation between the artist and the subject. The beauty is in the ambiguity, the invitation to fill in the gaps with our own imaginations.