Golvend water met drie zeilende boten 1606 - 1656

Jan van Goyen made this quick sketch of sailing boats on rolling waves with pen and brown ink. It’s a common enough scene in Dutch painting, but look closely and you'll notice how the artist employed the spontaneous and informal properties of drawing to capture the dynamism of the sea. Consider the thinness of the lines, the permeable texture, and the way the ink bleeds slightly into the paper: these qualities lend a sense of immediacy to the image, as if the artist were trying to capture a fleeting moment. Van Goyen was evidently highly skilled in the handling of the pen, using it to create a sense of depth and movement. While we might think of drawings as being somehow less ‘finished’ than paintings, in fact, they are often the site of tremendous experimentation. Van Goyen clearly saw drawing as an important part of his artistic practice, a place where he could explore new ideas and techniques. By considering the material qualities of this drawing, we can better understand the artist's process and the significance of his work within the larger history of Dutch art.