Roeiboot met twee mannen bij een waterput in een rivier 1907

Willem Cornelis Rip made this landscape sketch of a rowboat with two men by a well using graphite, at an unknown date. Rip’s approach to mark-making is all about economy; he’s using just a few lines to suggest so much – the ripples in the water, the texture of the windmill, the figures in the boat. It's really about seeing how little you can do to make the most of what's there. The sketch is all about the physical presence of the graphite on the paper. Look at the windmill: Rip uses short, choppy strokes to build up the form, creating a sense of depth and texture. You can almost feel the roughness of the stone and the wind in the sails. There's something really beautiful about the way Rip captures a sense of place with such minimal means. It reminds me a little of some of the landscape drawings of Hercules Segers. But where Segers feels epic and grand, Rip is more intimate and personal. Ultimately, it's the kind of art that reminds you that seeing is a creative act, and that even the simplest of images can be full of complexity and depth.