Zeilschip bij een aanlegplaats naast enkele huizen 1834 - 1906

Curator: This drawing by Maria Vos, titled “Zeilschip bij een aanlegplaats naast enkele huizen”, which translates to "Sailing Ship at a Berth Next to Some Houses," captures a serene cityscape. Made sometime between 1834 and 1906 using pencil, it offers us a glimpse into Dutch life of the period. Editor: The initial feeling is tranquil, but there is an unsettling lack of clarity. The architectural shapes blend into the landscape, obscuring our viewpoint in the fuzzy execution, offering us a scene both soft and mysterious. Curator: Vos, as a woman artist, navigated a complex social landscape. Works like this drawing might have served various purposes, from quick sketches for larger compositions to independent works exploring everyday life and her surroundings. Note how these domestic scenes differ from male depictions of heroic subjects or vast landscapes. Editor: I’m more fascinated by the rhythmic interplay of horizontal lines in the water’s reflection. This contrasts beautifully with the verticality of the masts and architecture; look how the formal qualities support a delicate structure which in turn brings balance to the overall composition. The artist makes you work to create forms in what looks unfinished but it works formally. Curator: It also allows us insight into the artistic training prevalent at the time. Note the emphasis on detail and realism. The urban environment and port are treated in what has since been determined a traditionally realistic manner; which at that time gave the viewer access to this burgeoning vision. Editor: Yet it defies a fully “realistic” label! There's an expressiveness to the mark-making, a raw, unfinished quality in this sketching, and a feeling as if capturing a fleeting impression as quickly as possible. Look closely at that upper construction; there are windows, doors and peaks that almost threaten to disappear at any given time. The soft gradient of the pencil strokes further add to this ethereal interpretation. Curator: This leads us to thinking on how women created domestic art and urban settings to promote both their livelihood, and a worldview outside the male cannon that has always determined our viewing paradigm. Thank you for exploring it with me. Editor: The soft values of tonal modelling give an impression of transience and beauty to a genre not often linked to those themes. Thank you for making me aware of new vantage points.