Stadsgezicht met een tuin Possibly 1915 - 1917

Curator: Right now, we're looking at "Stadsgezicht met een tuin," or "Cityscape with a Garden," possibly created between 1915 and 1917 by Willem Witsen. It's currently held at the Rijksmuseum. What’s your immediate take? Editor: Intimate, I think. The muted pencil tones feel like a private thought jotted down—fleeting and unfinished. Curator: That's interesting. For me, it captures a liminal moment where the natural world and urban structure clash, or perhaps blend in an unexpected harmony. The impressionistic style certainly softens the harshness you might expect from a cityscape. Look at the quick, gestural lines used for the foliage! Editor: Exactly. It highlights the contrast, doesn't it? We've got this wild growth bumping up against the rigid geometry of the buildings. Speaking of the buildings, I find myself thinking about the actual materials... pencil on paper; the mass-produced paper substrate allowing the fleeting moments to be shared so widely today. Curator: The contrast is essential. The raw materials are essential to grounding that clash. But this juxtaposition asks a big question, for me anyway. Is the city imposing on nature or is nature reclaiming urban spaces? There’s a tension there that feels very alive, very present. It makes me consider where the work was made in the context of early 20th-century urbanization. The world was changing so fast, that these themes of urbanization where the norm. Editor: Yes! Think of the labor involved in producing the materials Witsen used. Graphite mining, paper milling, even the societal shifts enabling access to these art supplies… all of it contributing to the piece’s meaning. It brings to question, was art supplies being so readily available influencing such sketches. Curator: All connected—as art often is, isn't it? We began seeing materials and production and even availability changing artists outputs drastically at this time. Ultimately, it is still the feelings of life captured so precisely that stand out, even across all of this. It feels like standing on the edge of something unknown. Editor: An intersection indeed! Focusing on the supplies really adds a whole other texture to appreciating the work as a snapshot of that time.