Tuin van hotel Bellevue, Buitenzorg c. 1921

Curator: This etching by Willem Witsen, dating back to approximately 1921, presents the garden of the Hotel Bellevue in Buitenzorg. It's currently held in the Rijksmuseum collection. Editor: It strikes me as wonderfully dreamlike. The limited palette evokes a feeling of sepia-toned memories, almost as if this landscape exists more in recollection than observation. Curator: Indeed. Witsen frequently revisited locations. His process involved sketching, photographing, and etching from memory. Here the detailed layering gives a sense of almost oppressive tropical abundance. Note the palm trees that frame the scene, with a volcano visible in the background. The repetition is intentional and, to me, suggestive of both colonial observation and psychological depth. Editor: Absolutely, there’s an undeniable density achieved through that technique, which paradoxically feels very flat. It forces you to confront the artifice of representation; this is a designed image as much as it is a captured moment. How fascinating that the visual elements combine realism with artistic contrivance, a unique pictorial puzzle of sorts. Curator: Buitenzorg, now Bogor in Indonesia, carried heavy colonial weight during that era, but for Witsen it was a haven and a sanctuary of the familiar and the foreign blended together. He imbues that symbolism beautifully here. There is nostalgia etched on the paper for me. Editor: For me the tension arises not so much from a symbolic interpretation, but from the pure composition of tonal depth that has a flattening effect overall. A sophisticated tension, don't you think? Curator: Yes, and it echoes, I think, the conflicted perspectives he had for the colonial world he was living in. The technique mirrors that state, but you are right, this formal aspect is undeniably important in communicating a deep unease with paradise. Editor: It is fascinating how the limitations he imposes through his stylistic choices also create opportunities. A very engaging work overall, really! Curator: Indeed. This piece invites a conversation far beyond its initial visual serenity, and hopefully gives listeners a renewed insight into an interesting colonial landscape.