Door een storm getroffen boom 1874

Willem Cornelis Rip made this drawing of a storm-damaged tree branch with graphite on paper. The artist's choice of a seemingly simple material like graphite is quite telling. It’s a medium accessible to many, and the way Rip uses it here is almost democratic. The lines are direct, unpretentious, capturing the raw essence of the broken branch. You can almost feel the weight of the wood, the jagged edges where it splintered. Graphite, in its very nature, leaves a trace, a residue of the artist's hand, mirroring the enduring impact of the storm on the tree. It’s also important to see this drawing as a product of labor. Rip has put in the work to observe, to translate what he sees onto paper. The materiality of the drawing, the graphite and paper, are humble, but the act of making transforms them. Ultimately, this drawing challenges our notions of what art should be. It’s not about grandeur or spectacle, but about the intimate connection between artist, material, and the world around us.