Brug 1842

Editor: This is “Brug,” a pencil and ink drawing made in 1842 by Charles Rochussen, here at the Rijksmuseum. It’s a scene of a little bridge and figures. I find it fascinating how much depth he creates with what looks like such quick, spontaneous marks. What stands out to you in this work? Curator: Well, doesn’t it just breathe the very air of Romanticism, even though it’s infused with realism, that grittiness you can almost feel under your fingernails. It's like stepping into a Brontë novel. You have to wonder about the figures there. Where are they going? What stories do they hold within them, do you think? Are they meeting at a sort of portal to another time and place? Editor: A portal...I hadn't thought of it that way! But now that you mention it, there's a definite sense of mystery about the opening to that dark, shadowed passageway under the bridge. The stark contrast really does suggest something hidden or unknown. I had simply taken the shadowy space as representing an antiquated bridge design. What leads you to focus on a romantic element of their lives, however? Curator: It's a bit of a push-and-pull between Rochussen's world observing the lives around him versus inventing what ails it; but more literally in terms of composition, look at the subtle tension created by the asymmetry, the soft textures achieved with pencil... Rochussen isn’t just depicting a bridge; he’s conjuring a feeling, isn't he? Editor: Definitely! And noticing the realism balanced by romanticism adds layers to its interpretation. Curator: Precisely. It’s those seemingly small choices that give a work its enduring resonance, you see. Perhaps we should both consider spending less time looking only in, and more time finding what surrounds us that seems so hidden at first.