Huizen aan een waterkant 1890 - 1946

Cornelis Vreedenburgh made this drawing of houses along a waterfront, probably en plein air, in his sketchbook with graphite on paper. Look at the way Vreedenburgh used quick, light strokes to capture the scene. It’s all about process here, you can almost feel him deciding where to put each line. The texture of the paper peeks through, adding to the sense of immediacy. Notice how the shading is achieved with dense parallel lines, creating a sense of depth and volume. It’s like he’s feeling his way through the scene, letting the pencil lead him. The repeated marks feel a bit like musical notation! The drawing reminds me a little of some of Mondrian's early sketches, before he went full-on abstract. It’s like seeing an artist thinking on paper, exploring the world around them. It’s a reminder that art is a conversation, an ongoing exploration of how we see and interpret the world.