Studieblad met diverse zeilschepen en figuren 1870 - 1931

Curator: This drawing here, executed by Willem Bastiaan Tholen, offers a glimpse into the artist's study of diverse sailing ships and figures, sometime between 1870 and 1931. Editor: My first thought? It's wonderfully unfussy. Almost like a visual shorthand, a quiet hum of movement captured with the bare minimum of fuss. Curator: Exactly. Look at the variation in the pen and pencil strokes, creating a fascinating texture on paper. The lines are not just delineating form, they're creating volume, shadow. You see it most in the shading of the sails. Editor: True. I think what I love is the inherent dynamism created with such simple marks. You feel the breeze catching the sails, the subtle rocking of the boats on the water. There’s a certain charm to the incomplete lines and suggested forms, a bit like how memories are constructed from fragments. Curator: That sense of fragment and experimentation also reflects the function of such sketchbook work, where an artist can quickly capture scenes. The way Tholen suggests human figures, simply by a cluster of strokes to define heads and shoulders—it's a lesson in economy of expression. Editor: Definitely. It also reminds me of that wonderful sense of artistic curiosity. Like he's not just drawing boats, but trying to understand something deeper about their form, their function, their relationship to the water. A meditation almost. Curator: Precisely. In addition to capturing fleeting moments on water, such sketches gave the artist the opportunity to analyse specific structures as separate studies, almost as exercises that prepared him for his later studio painting. The placement of the boat in the water is a study on its own, no? Editor: Absolutely. The perspective shifts, creating depth where none really exists—an atmospheric effect. In just a few strokes, a complete vision arises, capturing both the boats and his relationship with the water. What an invitation to consider an alternative angle to view art. Curator: Indeed. A study like this offers such an intriguing entry point to understanding an artist’s thinking. Editor: Well, for me, it offers an intriguing insight into the possibilities of simple artistic gesture, to sketch fleeting thoughts or impressions using minimal materials. The kind of art anyone can start, anytime!