Stadsgezicht met een brug over een kanaal 1890 - 1946

Cornelis Vreedenburgh made this drawing of a cityscape with a bridge over a canal with graphite on paper. He’s built the image up through a real sense of touch, the marks of the graphite hatching together to create depth. Look at the way Vreedenburgh has used the side of the graphite to suggest tonal variation, those dark areas feel almost velvety. The pressure he uses to create a darker tone also physically indents the paper, giving a raised, three-dimensional feel to the darker marks. The lines move in different directions, building form through a process of addition and subtraction. It feels like a search, a conversation with the surface, and with the subject of the drawing. The process seems almost more important than the end result. The drawing remains open, a site of possibility rather than something fixed. I'm reminded of de Kooning's drawings, a similarly restless energy. There's no final answer. It's always in process.