Drie bomen met kale takken 1870 - 1931

Willem Bastiaan Tholen created "Drie bomen met kale takken," or "Three Trees with Bare Branches", with pen and ink on paper. Tholen painted in a period characterized by shifting social values. His choice of subject, three trees stripped bare, might reflect a sense of starkness in the world around him. In this period, the depiction of nature became a way to explore human emotions and experiences. Are the trees a metaphor for resilience, standing firm despite adversity? Or, perhaps, are they a symbol of loss, stripped of their vibrancy? The simplicity of the medium, pen and ink, adds to the rawness of the piece, devoid of color and ornamentation. The drawing invites us to contemplate themes of exposure and endurance, reflecting on the cycles of nature and the human condition.