Hooioppers in een weiland c. 1909s

This small sketch by Alexander Shilling captures a scene of haystacks in a field, rendered in pencil on paper. You can see a study in contrasts, between a dark, expressive rendering of the haystacks on the right-hand side and the lighter suggestion of figures on the left, sketched in a barely-there, more freehand style. I can imagine Shilling with his sketchbook outdoors, trying to quickly capture a fleeting moment, a scene from everyday rural life that caught his eye. What was he thinking? Was it a study for something larger, or just a passing fancy? I like the way the dense hatching of the haystacks gives them a sense of volume and weight. I’m thinking of Van Gogh and his mark making here, and also the way Shilling’s left-hand figures are barely there, like the shadows in a Giacometti. Artists are always in conversation, aren't they? It makes me think about how we all inspire each other, across time, and how Shilling's study embraces ambiguity, inviting us to find our own meanings in the work.