Abklatsch van de krijttekening op pagina 23 recto 1890 - 1946

This faint pencil drawing was made by Cornelis Vreedenburgh. It's called Abklatsch van de krijttekening op pagina 23 recto, which means ‘rubbing of the chalk drawing on page 23 recto’ in Dutch. I love how tentative the marks are, almost like the artist is feeling their way through the image. The drawing captures something like a fleeting impression of a place. The texture feels soft, dusty even, like the chalk itself. You can almost feel the give of the paper under the artist’s hand. Look at the way the lines are layered on top of each other, building up a sense of depth and atmosphere, especially in the upper-left corner of the image. There's something almost accidental about the way the image emerges from the surface. This reminds me of Twombly’s drawings, with their scribbled lines and ghostly forms. It's like a secret language, open to interpretation and constantly shifting in meaning.