Gezicht op bomen langs het Wielseveer bij Eck en Wiel 1878

Editor: Here we have "View of Trees along the Wielseveer near Eck and Wiel," a charcoal drawing from 1878 by Willem Witsen. I find this incredibly evocative; the quick charcoal strokes capture a sense of fleeting time, almost like a memory fading at the edges. What catches your eye? Curator: What a wonderfully haunted landscape, isn't it? This piece, I think, captures that delicious tension between being completely present, "en plein air," and the act of remembrance. Do you feel that blurring in the immediacy of the charcoal, that whisper of yesterday blending into the now? I find myself wondering, was Witsen standing there, breathing the air, or already lost in a daydream as he drew? Editor: I hadn’t thought of it that way – the presence of absence. The structure in the background seems intentionally out of focus and could perhaps highlight that? What could be the importance of plein-air drawings? Curator: Exactly. That blurry structure hints at the bigger world, but isn’t fully committed to, it. I adore the immediacy of working outdoors. Each mark contains the breath of that very moment – the light shifting, a bird's call… but it also acknowledges the temporary nature of observation, things pass and decay, which en plein air tries to encapsulate by opposing these ideas simultaneously, don't you think? Editor: It’s interesting how such a seemingly simple sketch can hold so much depth. Curator: It is! Willem really understood how fleeting moments leave echoes and it helps me, seeing this, consider how our perception is always shifting in the winds of memory. Editor: A truly thoughtful point. I am glad that he saw the landscape as so interesting as to bring that moment here.