Gezicht op Orsoy, 1672 1900 - 1903

The frères Moreau made this Gezicht op Orsoy, a 1672 drawing, and it feels like they conjured it from a dream. The gray wash is applied so delicately, it’s like they’re inviting the paper itself to participate in the image-making. I love how the washes pool and bloom, creating these ghostly, soft-edged shapes that suggest buildings and landforms. The horizontal band in the center, that’s like a memory of a city. It's not about precision. It’s about capturing the feeling of a place, the mood of the light. Look how the blobs of tone seem to hover, like the whole scene might dissolve at any moment. It puts me in mind of Turner, who understood that painting wasn't just about representing the world, but about the experience of seeing. Like this drawing, Turner's work is about embracing the ephemeral and finding beauty in the ambiguous. It's like both artists are saying, 'Here’s what I saw, or thought I saw, or maybe just felt.'