Twee zeilschepen en een roeiboot 1890 - 1946

Editor: This is "Twee zeilschepen en een roeiboot" by Cornelis Vreedenburgh, likely created between 1890 and 1946. It’s a pencil drawing on paper, and it feels very raw and immediate, like a quick sketch in a notebook. What can you tell me about this piece? Curator: What interests me is the labour implied here. It's not just the hand of the artist at work, but the representations of labour involved in seafaring, perhaps even leisure. Can you see how the artist quickly renders these forms of vessels, prioritising the action of shipbuilding rather than idealised finished forms? Editor: Yes, it does feel very utilitarian, like the bare bones of something. Are you suggesting this might challenge conventional views of art? Curator: Exactly. We're seeing the means of visual production, challenging any distinction between a 'sketch' and a 'finished' work, art and craft. The pencil and paper themselves, accessible materials, become critical to the meaning. The repetition too. Does this drawing imply an efficient means to an end or are these explorations? Editor: So the accessibility of the materials and the sketch-like quality suggest something about art-making and its purpose at that time? Curator: Indeed. It invites questions about how art is produced and consumed within the context of, potentially, increased industrialization. Is this rapidness of drawing reflecting changes in Dutch labour practices and their potential links to consumerism? This sketch provides little solid evidence, but perhaps its form gives more clues to broader context. What have you taken away? Editor: I hadn't thought about it in terms of labour, production, and materials like that before. Looking at it this way, the drawing isn't just a sketch of boats, it’s part of a larger story. Curator: Precisely, it’s about the art itself and about a network of socio-economic activities related to artistic production.