Zeilboten op de Maas 1914 - 1916

Willem Cornelis Rip made this small drawing of sailboats on the Maas river with graphite. It’s a scene, a fleeting moment, but the touch is so light it could almost be a memory. Look at how Rip suggests the light on the water with these vertical marks like shivering reflections. They remind me of Cy Twombly’s scribbles, not in style but in the way they capture movement with such simple gestures. See how the graphite is smudged in places, giving the clouds and the boats a soft, hazy quality. It’s like Rip is trying to capture not just what he sees, but how it feels to be there, on the water. This piece feels like a quick study, a moment captured on the go. It reminds us that art is often about process, about the artist's hand moving across the surface, thinking, feeling, and responding to the world.