Zeilschepen op rivier 1860 - 1921

Curator: Let’s take a closer look at "Zeilschepen op rivier," or "Sailing Ships on a River," by Adolf le Comte. It is believed to have been created sometime between 1860 and 1921. Editor: There's a certain raw, unfinished quality to it. A flurry of pencil, charcoal, and pen sketch lines define the forms but also leave so much to the imagination. The light feels diffused, melancholic. Curator: Absolutely. Note how Le Comte uses a combination of these media – charcoal and pencil for the broader tonal ranges, defining mass and depth, while employing pen sketches for those crisp outlines, such as along the sails and the boat hulls themselves. It indicates an artist very comfortable in manipulating his resources, who views these media as being fundamentally the same—just charcoal applied in pencil and rendered using graphite. Editor: The repeated motif of masts stretching skyward… it feels almost like a forest of potential, perhaps of journeys waiting to be taken. Water as the conduit to new experiences. The men on the boats are hunched and hard at work, unaware of any journeys ahead. The boats are just bobbing there. Curator: Yes, these weren’t vacationers. Consider the maritime industry during this period. Such vessels would be central to trade networks or possibly essential to sustaining the local economies and communities. It also demonstrates how materials were sourced and distributed in that day, highlighting how dependent communities were on sailing. Editor: There's a powerful sense of collective visual memory embedded within these types of images, isn't there? Boats as vehicles of both hope and peril. One remembers all the associated myths and legends that use the symbol of sailing. The small size and rather limited detail add to its accessibility as a memory or quickly penned personal memento. Curator: Indeed, while on first blush it appears straightforward, this work truly offers a great deal. I notice new insights each time I revisit it. Editor: And for me, it stirs such vivid emotional responses. I sense the vastness of time as represented in such familiar imagery.