Brug over de Herengracht te Amsterdam, ter hoogte van de Leidsegracht c. 1901

Willem Witsen made this drawing of a bridge over the Herengracht in Amsterdam using pencil on paper. It is like he captured a fleeting moment, the light shifting on the water. I can imagine him standing there, sketchbook in hand, quickly trying to capture the essence of the scene before it disappears. Did he choose to work in pencil to convey a sense of immediacy? Or was he just fond of the way it feels in the hand, the smudging? Look at the marks he made, so deliberate and sure. The thick lines that define the bridge's structure, the softer strokes that suggest the movement of the water. It's like he is saying that painting is not just about representation but about the gesture, the touch, the very act of making. It's a conversation between the artist and the world, a way of seeing and feeling and being. You can see this sense of rhythm in the work of other artists too, like Whistler, maybe, or Vuillard. There’s such a delicate, lovely sensibility on display.