Abklatsch van de krijttekening op blad 10 verso 1892

This small chalk drawing was made by Willem Cornelis Rip sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. Rip, who lived from 1856 to 1922, inhabited a world undergoing immense social and political change, deeply impacted by the Industrial Revolution. Within this image, we see what appears to be a landscape—a stand of trees, maybe a path. The light touch of the chalk gives the scene an ephemeral, dreamlike quality. It's a moment captured, more felt than seen, a memory of the natural world amidst the rise of urbanization. The sketch is a delicate act, and perhaps an act of resistance. As traditional ways of life were fading, it was an assertion of the importance of rural life. This work invites us to slow down, to find beauty in the understated, and to remember the landscapes that shape our collective memory.