Stenen boog bij de ingang van een groeve te Valkenburg c. 1893

Curator: Here we have a pencil drawing from around 1893 by Anna Catharina Maria van Eeghen, titled “Stenen boog bij de ingang van een groeve te Valkenburg” – which translates to "Stone arch at the entrance to a quarry in Valkenburg." It looks like a landscape study. What's your first take on it? Editor: It has a slightly eerie feel. The darkness within the cave or quarry looms large. It makes me think about the hidden labors involved in extracting raw materials. You can almost feel the weight of the stone. Curator: I see that weight too, almost pressing down. It gives me the sensation of secrets, hidden not only within the stone itself but within the act of creation, like the earth is guarding something. The medium—simple pencil on paper—almost heightens the intimacy, as if we're peering into Van Eeghen's private sketchbook. Editor: It’s interesting you say that. It's easy to romanticize landscape sketches, but consider what a quarry represents. Labor, extraction, and industry’s heavy mark. Van Eeghen captures the stillness of the space, and this quiet feels imbued with the weight of the future, of the land about to be materially altered and reshaped. Curator: That shift—between raw, natural form and resource—is something Van Eeghen seems incredibly sensitive to. The right-hand portion seems unresolved, unfinished, even expectant as though the story of that tension, of that transition, is only half-told. Editor: And there are two panes in the work. A diptych in monochrome pencils: very elemental. I wonder what the economics of making these images were and who the audience was. Curator: Given the detail in the geological formations on the left panel I suspect that Van Eeghen might have been capturing the scene as part of some study or investigation of her surroundings. Almost like visual notes. Editor: True, but at the same time, by drawing attention to this site Van Eeghen invites reflection on the human imprint that is just outside of our field of vision in this drawing. It prompts questions about extraction processes and where materials come from. Curator: Ultimately, what lingers with me is that whisper of mystery Van Eeghen captures. Even with a simple pencil sketch, she unlocks something powerful. Editor: Absolutely. It really brings home how artistic practices have documented our relationship with our resources and asks us to consider that legacy, from creation to consumption.