Man op een brug over het water in een bos 1919

This landscape with a bridge and figure was drawn by Willem Cornelis Rip in graphite on paper. The artist used simple lines to build up the image, adding hatching to suggest the forms of the trees and the figure on the bridge. I love how Rip uses the double page spread of the sketchbook to compose the picture. On the left, he gives us a hint of the landscape, with a low horizon line and a few strokes to suggest the water. On the right, he focuses on the bridge, using many short, light strokes to describe the wooden structure and the surrounding foliage. Look at how the artist uses the graphite to create different textures. The bridge is rendered with more precision, the soft marks build up to suggest the form and structure. The surrounding foliage is much more amorphous, the overall effect is one of light and shadow. It reminds me of Symbolist landscape painters like Odilon Redon, who used loose, suggestive forms to evoke a mood or feeling, over a literal representation of the scene. Art is always a conversation with the past.