Gezicht op een dijk in Volendam met mensen in klederdracht c. 1900 - 1910

This artwork by G. Hidderley, titled ‘Gezicht op een dijk in Volendam met mensen in klederdracht’ is an interesting little landscape, all done in brown ink. I imagine Hidderley carefully inking the lines of the buildings and figures, trying to capture the light in Volendam. It’s all about texture. Look at the detail on the surface of the dijk and the stonework of the houses. I love the tonal range achieved just using brown ink, from the lightest wash to the darkest shadows – each mark feels deliberate and considered. The brown hues create an interesting visual tension, almost like a sepia photograph capturing the essence of time and place. Hidderley might have been thinking of capturing the life of this region of the Netherlands. You can see the influence of earlier landscape painters in the interest in the surface, but there is also something very different going on here. Artists are always looking at one another's work to see what's possible.