Twee zeilschepen op het water c. 1901 - 1927

Johan Antonie de Jonge made this lovely, light drawing of two sailboats with graphite on paper. It's almost as if he’s captured a fleeting thought, or the ghost of an image. I love the simplicity of the strokes that describe the sails and masts. You can sense him there, poised above the page, trying to catch something that is gone as soon as it's seen. The marks feel like an attempt to capture not just the image of the boats but the ephemeral moment itself. The darker, diagonal shading gives weight to the nearest boat, contrasting beautifully with the light touches of the one further away. It reminds me of the way Fairfield Porter would capture the light on the water, all immediacy. The drawing feels so fresh, as if it was just made, yet it also taps into a long tradition of artists studying the world around them. It’s a reminder that art is always a conversation across time, where each artist builds on what they’ve seen and felt, encouraging us to see and feel more deeply, too.