Figuren op een boot bij een aanlegpaal 1890 - 1946

Cornelis Vreedenburgh made this drawing of figures on a boat by a mooring post with a pencil. Just a pencil! It is a simple yet evocative sketch; the kind of drawing you might make when you don't have much time. I imagine Vreedenburgh sitting by the canal with his sketchbook, trying to capture the scene quickly, before the light changes or the boat sails away. The lines are scratchy and light, giving the impression of movement and transience. It kind of reminds me of a Cy Twombly. The artist is trying to distill an experience of the world, and it reminds me that drawing is a process of enquiry: what does it mean to really see something? Artists look at the art of the past and think about what they can bring to this conversation. We all have our own things to say, our own way of speaking.