Stadsgezicht met een brug over een kanaal 1890 - 1946

This cityscape with a bridge over a canal was made by Cornelis Vreedenburgh, we don't know exactly when, with a pencil. Imagine Vreedenburgh standing there, sketchbook in hand, squinting at the scene before him. The soft graphite marks capture the gentle light on the water and the quiet stillness of the buildings. I imagine he was just trying to capture a fleeting moment, not to make a grand statement, but just to see what would happen on the page. There's a lovely simplicity to the way he's reduced the scene to its basic shapes and tones. You can almost feel the breeze and hear the gentle lapping of the water against the canal walls. It's a very personal and intimate moment. Like other artists such as Piet Mondrian, Vreedenburgh was interested in the Dutch landscape. I see this work, not as a definitive statement, but as part of an ongoing conversation about place, memory, and the simple act of looking. It embraces uncertainty, leaving space for multiple interpretations and emotional resonances.