Twee kinderen in een boomrijke omgeving, vermoedelijk bij de Witte Brug in Den Haag 1890 - 1931

Willem Bastiaan Tholen made this drawing of two children in a tree-filled landscape, probably near the Witte Brug in The Hague, with graphite on paper. I love how the marks build up, the density of the lines shifting to suggest depth and shadow. Tholen isn't precious; he lays down these lines like he's thinking, each stroke a kind of rumination. Look at the way he renders the foliage – a flurry of scribbles that somehow coalesce into the impression of leaves rustling in the breeze. It's not about perfection, but about capturing the essence of a moment. There's a kind of raw energy in the work, a sense of immediacy that feels totally contemporary. It reminds me a bit of some of Twombly's drawings, though Tholen's touch is lighter, more grounded in observation. Ultimately, it is the ambiguity of the scene that really sticks with you – a reminder that art is often more about questions than answers.