Rijtjeshuizen 1890 - 1946

Cornelis Vreedenburgh made this drawing, Rijtjeshuizen, with pencil on paper, and what strikes me is the immediate, searching quality of the marks. There's a real sense of process, of feeling out the form of these terraced houses. The lines are tentative, almost like he’s mapping the space, trying to understand the architecture in front of him. Look at the area where the houses meet the ground. See the scribbled lines suggesting foliage or a garden? It's a beautiful contrast to the more structured lines of the buildings. The physical qualities of the pencil on paper are laid bare: the smudges, the varying pressure, the vulnerability. It reminds me a bit of Philip Guston’s early, more representational drawings, where the line is also allowed to be awkward and unsure. There’s an honesty in that approach, an acceptance of imperfection, that makes the work feel so alive.