Waag op de Nieuwmarkt te Amsterdam 1890 - 1946

Cornelis Vreedenburgh made this drawing of Waag op de Nieuwmarkt in Amsterdam with graphite on paper, and you can see the drawing is faint and tentative. I can imagine the artist carefully observing, and trying to capture the essence of the moment, the weight and heft of the architecture. I wonder, did he sit outside in the square to draw it, or did he draw it later in his studio, from memory? I like the way the lines are not too precious, they feel casual and experimental. It's like he's feeling his way around the edges of the building, trying to find the right lines to describe its shape. Look at those scribbled marks on the right, and how they give a sense of movement and energy to the drawing. He is building form with simple marks, a language that all artists share across time. It shows me that even in the most representational drawing there is room for feeling, intuition, and personal expression.