Vrouw met kruik op het hoofd bij een stadspoort 1884 - 1952

Reinier Willem Petrus de Vries made this drawing of a woman carrying a jug on her head near a city gate, with pen and brush in brown ink. It's so decorative! The architecture is fanciful, and it’s like a dreamscape. I wonder, what was de Vries thinking? What was the emotional landscape he was trying to create? This linear, precise drawing also has a bit of art nouveau influence, with its stylized forms and flattened perspective. There is a peacock on the left, so proud. It reminds me of that problem that all painters face: how to create a sense of depth and space on a flat surface. De Vries uses different techniques: linear perspective, overlapping forms, and changes in scale to create a sense of depth, but it still feels so flat. This drawing is an invitation to step into another world, one full of beauty, mystery, and enchantment.