Figuren bij een poort in een stadsmuur 1865 - 1913

This is Bramine Hubrecht’s Figuren bij een poort in een stadsmuur, held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. It's a graphite sketch that captures an old city gate, with figures sketched faintly within its arch. The light pencil strokes give the image a sense of immediacy, as if it were captured in a fleeting moment. The composition is structured around the contrast between the solid architectural forms and the soft, almost dissolving lines of the figures and surrounding landscape. The gate itself is rendered with sharp, vertical lines, suggesting strength and permanence, while the figures and foliage are sketched loosely. Hubrecht employs a semiotic system, using the gate as a signifier of history and stability, juxtaposed with the transient nature of human life and nature. The drawing challenges fixed meanings of solidity, suggesting that even the most permanent structures are subject to the passage of time and the fluidity of perception. It highlights how we continuously reinterpret space and form through our fleeting interactions.