Veerbootje bij een oever met bomen 1780 - 1849

Curator: This is "Veerbootje bij een oever met bomen," which translates to "Ferry Boat by a Riverbank with Trees," a drawing attributed to David-Pierre Giottino Humbert de Superville, created sometime between 1780 and 1849. It's currently held in the Rijksmuseum. Editor: The atmosphere here is quite subdued, almost melancholy. The monochromatic ink and pencil give it a timeless quality, though the sketch-like nature keeps it feeling very immediate. It is modest in scale. Curator: It reflects the prevailing tastes of the Romantic era, which, through the depiction of landscapes, often alluded to something much larger than a mere physical place, perhaps societal or personal yearning. Ferry boats also held particular significance. Editor: It's true that the lone boat does act like a symbolic marker of transition. Note the minimal detailing with soft edges. Observe how much is suggested, not defined. It reminds me of tonalism, how form arises gradually through the gentle use of chiaroscuro. Curator: Humbert de Superville, a man of his time, participated in cultural shifts during the Napoleonic era, later establishing himself as a professor of languages and art. This context frames his artistic focus on picturesque elements resonating with Dutch identity. The image of this boat represents an everyday form, an apparatus, through which one enacts their life and sustains an identity. Editor: The composition is certainly striking. The ferry boat sits as this central form. The linear perspective gives way to a vast expanse that consumes more than half of the pictorial space. This amplifies the sense of openness. Curator: I agree. Considering his time as the director of the print cabinet at Leiden University, and later his engagement with early photography, Humbert de Superville demonstrated an abiding concern with art’s function in capturing and archiving contemporary cultural experiences. Editor: It’s fascinating how such simple materials, ink and pencil, evoke such complex sentiments through line and tone. Thank you, I will keep that in mind while walking through the collection. Curator: Hopefully you leave today more cognizant of how such Romantic drawings capture moments but mirror evolving notions of collective belonging and history.