Dordrecht 1870 - 1877

Curator: Walter Shirlaw, working between 1870 and 1877, created this work titled “Dordrecht.” It’s a pencil drawing, a cityscape really. What's your immediate sense of it? Editor: My first impression? It’s undeniably quiet, almost melancholic. The light is muted, the lines are soft. Curator: Yes, I find it compelling how he renders the architecture. Shirlaw wasn’t just sketching buildings; he was capturing the feeling of the city. Note the arches – the weight and age suggested through delicate pencil strokes. How the stones seems to breath. Editor: Absolutely. Structurally, it's all about that central arch. It divides the pictorial space, framing the figure while simultaneously leading your eye into the depths of the composition. The woman centered, alone. Curator: And that woman beneath the arch... she embodies the everyday. Is she pondering life's meaning as she exists betwixt structure and depth. Editor: Symbolically, perhaps she represents the human element dwarfed by history. The architectural grandeur, the enduring stones versus the transient nature of human life. It is semiotically charged. The structure could refer to an order greater then us that contains our small stories. Curator: The weight of history can press upon one, can’t it? He also captures this realist approach to daily life that feels incredibly familiar and somewhat solemn. A life like yours and mine reflected. I appreciate this rendering, in his mark making and ability to reveal these complexities through something so simple as graphite and paper. Editor: Indeed. The restraint of the medium underscores the gravity of the subject. The monochromatic palette focuses our attention on form and structure and what these can potentially reveal to a thoughtful observer. Curator: So, while seeming subdued on the surface, "Dordrecht" resonates on multiple levels. I wonder what this town has looked like throughout time. Maybe a history filled with just such quite pondering people. Editor: An understated, yet deeply contemplative image. Something to come back to over time I believe, and always finding something new about structure, time, place and ultimately the way a sketch reveals the same aspects to our own living moments.