Montelbaanstoren aan de Oudeschans te Amsterdam 1890 - 1946

Cornelis Vreedenburgh made this sketch of the Montelbaanstoren in Amsterdam with pencil. There’s something so charming about the immediacy of a pencil sketch, right? You can see the artist figuring things out, lines quickly laid down to capture the essence of the tower. It’s all about process, that dance between the eye, the hand, and the subject. Look at the way Vreedenburgh uses line weight to define the structure, darker, bolder strokes in some areas, and lighter, more tentative marks elsewhere. The texture of the pencil on paper adds a kind of grittiness, a raw quality. See the soft, scribbled lines describing the trees, they contrast the hard edges of the architecture. This drawing reminds me a little of Giorgio Morandi, who used simple marks to distill the essence of a place. There is a sense of quiet observation, inviting us to pause and appreciate the beauty in the everyday. It's a reminder that art isn't about perfection, but about seeing and feeling.