De wonderbare vischvangst 1912

Jan Toorop made this watercolour, ‘The Miraculous Catch of Fish,’ sometime around 1902. There’s a real freedom to the lines, like he’s sketching out a thought, letting the forms emerge as he goes. The paint is so thin and washy, you can see the paper showing through. It gives the whole thing a lightness, almost like a dream. Notice how the lines vary – sometimes thick and bold, other times delicate and thin. It’s like he’s using the line itself to create depth and shadow, like in the way the waves are rendered, the darker lines defining the crests. The colour palette is restrained: blues, greens, browns – yet they feel luminous somehow. The water is so translucent. That wave in the foreground, with its curling crest, feels so alive. I think of Gauguin, who also found spiritual meaning in everyday life, in his own way. It’s not about perfection, but about capturing a feeling, a moment, an idea. Art as a conversation, an exploration, a way of seeing the world anew.