Water onder een brug c. 1887 - 1920

Willem Witsen made this drawing, Water onder een brug, with graphite. It’s a study, really, a way of seeing how marks can conjure a place. There’s a scribbled energy to it; you get the sense of an artist working quickly, trying to capture an impression. Look at how Witsen uses these tiny hatching marks to create areas of tone, like the shadow under the bridge. It’s not about perfect representation. It's more like he's thinking aloud with his pencil, playing with the push and pull between light and dark, solid and dissolving. There's writing all around the central image, with little notes and observations. The whole thing has this beautiful sense of being provisional, a moment caught in time. Think of other artists like James McNeill Whistler, who were interested in capturing fleeting impressions of modern life. Art isn’t about answers, but about how we learn to ask better questions.