Copyright: Rijks Museum: Open Domain
This is Cornelis Vreedenburgh's "Man en vrouw aan een tafel," made with pen on paper. The spontaneous lines, zigging and zagging, remind us that drawing is about thinking. It's all about mark-making and how a few lines can suggest so much. Look at the cross-hatching on the man’s chest, a shorthand for volume. You can almost feel the scratch of the pen on the page. The artist is not trying to trick us into seeing reality. Instead, Vreedenburgh is laying down a map of his observations, a record of a moment in time. The drawing is more about process than it is about product. This reminds me of work by Guston. Both artists understand that art is a conversation, not a lecture. It is a testament to the power of ambiguity and the beauty of imperfection.
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