Landschap met molens 1907

This landscape with windmills was made by Willem Cornelis Rip with graphite on paper. Just imagine him outside in the fields with his sketchbook and pencil! I can almost feel the breeze on my face. The drawing is just a flurry of marks, but I can still see the windmill there. It's really about feeling rather than knowing. You can see how Rip layered the marks to create the density of the foliage. And he really went to town on the sky! It’s like he was trying to capture the energy of the wind itself. I think artists are always in conversation with each other across time, and this drawing is a good reminder that even a quick sketch can be full of feeling and energy. It’s like Rip is saying, "Hey, look at this, isn't it amazing?" And it is!