Landschap met molens 1907

Willem Cornelis Rip made this drawing of windmills, probably en plein air, with graphite on paper. Look at the marks, the repeated hatching, how the tone is built up through multiple light, close lines. It’s clear that this is about the process of making. The windmills and landscape only exist as a byproduct of the act of drawing itself. You can almost feel the grain of the graphite stick against the page! See how the density of the marks creates the dark areas, like the mass of the trees, while the lighter areas are just the untouched paper showing through. It’s like he’s sculpting the image out of shadow. The whole thing feels immediate, like a captured moment. It makes me think of the landscapes of Jacob van Ruisdael, though Rip's approach is much more raw and process-oriented. Ultimately, it reminds us that art is as much about the journey as the destination.