Landscape with a horseman and a windmill in the distance 1650 - 1660

Anton Crussens created this landscape drawing with pen and brown ink in the mid-17th century. The composition, framed by a thin, dark line, reveals a scene where spatial depth is suggested through the use of light and shadow. The eye is drawn from the dark foreground, occupied by earthy formations and a winding path, towards the distant windmill, rendered faintly on the horizon. The figures dotted across the landscape are not merely anecdotal. Instead, they function as structural elements, guiding the viewer's gaze through the composition. Crussens masterfully employs line and texture to differentiate between near and far, solid and ethereal. This interplay reflects a fascination with perspective that destabilizes our conventional understanding of space. The drawing suggests a world where perception is not fixed, but rather a fluid and dynamic experience, questioning the very act of seeing and interpreting the landscape.