Raderboot (bovenste blad) 1883 - 1942

Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita made this drawing of a paddle steamer, or Raderboot, on paper, location and date unknown. It's amazing to think about how this gridded boat came into being, shifting and emerging through trial, error, and intuition. I sympathize with the artist and imagine what it might have been like to create this artwork. What might he have been thinking when he made it? The drawing is delicate, a matrix of tiny flags floating above a mass of waves, which are rendered with precise, descriptive lines. Each line seems to be exactly where it needs to be, capturing the feeling of the sea. The grid itself feels like the hand of the artist, who is also a sailor, who is also a nation looking out at the world. Artists are in an ongoing conversation, inspiring one another’s creativity. Drawing embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations and meaning.