Zeegezicht met zonsondergang c. 1901 - 1927

Johan Antonie de Jonge created this watercolour painting, Zeegezicht met zonsondergang, evoking a seascape at sunset, likely done en plein air. The soft pastel hues, pale blues, greys, and touches of pink, are so beautifully subtle. The magic here lies in the way de Jonge handles the paint, with translucent washes, almost like a memory of a sunset, rather than a description. Look at the horizon line, it’s barely there, but you feel the vastness. The paper peeps through in places, creating a luminous quality. There’s a certain vulnerability in the work, in the fragility of the mark-making. I am thinking of other great watercolourists, like Turner, who captured the fleeting effects of light and atmosphere. What connects them is how they use the medium to express something beyond the visible world. Something about time and transience. Like a half remembered dream, and gone in a moment.