Bomen op een heuvel aan het water 1905

Simon Moulijn made this drawing, Trees on a Hill by the Water, with pencil, and it's all about the build-up of marks, isn't it? It’s like watching a landscape emerge from a cloud of graphite. The texture here is so interesting – a real back-and-forth between light and dark. Look how the pencil work creates this almost velvety surface on the hill. It's so dense in places, then opens up to let the light through, giving the whole scene a kind of breathing quality. And notice those little details like the water, how it’s suggested with just a few lines, but it feels so present. It's really incredible what he conjures out of so little. It reminds me a little of Samuel Palmer, that visionary intensity. Ultimately, art is all about the conversation, and Moulijn is having his say here, adding his own voice to the chorus.