Landschap, mogelijk een duinlandschap 1881 - 1927

Curator: Ah, I feel like I’m looking at a whispered secret. This drawing, "Landschap, mogelijk een duinlandschap"—"Landscape, possibly a dune landscape"—is by Johan Antonie de Jonge and thought to be created sometime between 1881 and 1927. Editor: My first thought? It feels almost monochromatic, with this endless sea of soft grey hues conveying a somber atmosphere, as if the landscape itself is holding its breath. Curator: It’s created using a deceptively simple technique, pencil on paper. Look closer, and the magic is revealed, and the artist created a captivating, palpable atmosphere, you feel that you might find a mysterious portal to another time or world! Editor: Yes, absolutely, that application is particularly interesting, since de Jonge really used pencil strokes, the variations in the density and direction creates an overall field with an intriguing formal language: it’s clear the hand, its pressures and movements, are what the eye beholds, and it makes the dunes come alive with this sinuous energy. Curator: I see it as more of a silent, watchful presence. The horizon line, so low and subtle, amplifies the volume of the dunes— almost as if de Jonge felt a reverence to the nature of the land, where even shadows seem to speak. The drawing beckons viewers to look deeper and discover that unspoken story within themselves. Editor: An interesting and somewhat unusual observation. I would perhaps instead suggest that it's that kind of minimalism of de Jonge’s style what provides a sort of stark elegance. In many respects this echoes the artistic explorations happening around that turn of the century, stripping down representational form. Curator: In fact, his choice of landscape reminds me of a walk I took some years ago to that same dunes, close to the coastline. Those lines, in all those tonalities are so beautiful, a quiet place to observe time passing. And the scale somehow it adds a feeling of openness to it all! Editor: It's a really rewarding work that reminds us that even within what appears to be quiet simplicity, there are incredibly sophisticated depths. Thank you for walking me through de Jonge’s work! Curator: Indeed. These are moments to cherish, as a means to be intimate to this particular landscape and a beautiful art, right?