Pad door een landschap c. 1884 - 1887

Willem Witsen made this landscape drawing with charcoal and chalk. The lack of a specific date makes it difficult to situate this work within Witsen’s artistic timeline. However, we can assume that it was made somewhere in the Netherlands during his lifetime. Witsen belonged to a group called the Amsterdam Impressionists. They focused on depicting everyday life and landscapes, often with an emphasis on capturing fleeting moments and atmospheric conditions. The art institutions of the time were initially resistant to Impressionism, but eventually, it became accepted and celebrated. In this drawing, Witsen captures a sense of tranquility and the beauty of the Dutch landscape, however, it is difficult to know whether he was making a statement about Dutch society or its institutions. To fully understand its significance, we might delve into the social history of the Netherlands during Witsen's lifetime. By researching the art criticism of the time, we can explore its cultural value during its time.