Kasteel aan een rivier 1872

Editor: This is "Castle on a River," drawn in 1872 by Maria van Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. It’s ink on paper, and the scene is dominated by this… somewhat foreboding castle. I immediately get a fairytale vibe, but a slightly gloomy one. What stands out to you most about this piece? Curator: Gloomy fairytales, now that's an image! You know, when I look at it, I'm drawn to the textures created by the ink. See how the artist uses tiny, almost frantic lines to build up the bulk of the castle and the foliage? It’s as if the landscape is trembling with a secret. It feels both real and slightly dreamlike, doesn't it? Makes me wonder what stories those walls could tell. Do you feel that too? Editor: I do. It's also interesting how she’s built up the depth of field with these hazy lines toward the horizon line, while closer to us we see detailed foliage along the bank. Are those people near the riverbank, in the bottom right? Curator: Aha! You spotted them. Figures almost dissolving into the scene. What purpose do you think they serve? To give the scale to the majestic building, or to make the landscape less threatening, less intimidating? Editor: Probably scale. Without those little figures, it's difficult to fully appreciate how big that castle really is! Also, with it being a black and white ink drawing, it emphasizes the structure, almost architectural rendering… rather than emotional narrative painting… I wonder if it was preparatory sketches for a larger piece? Curator: Perhaps. Or maybe Maria just felt like capturing this one fleeting image on paper. Life isn't about the end product sometimes. We’ve gained more appreciation about how a drawing can create many layers, more than we expected, even in this simple composition. Editor: I agree. It's amazing to think how much can be conveyed with just ink and paper.