Landschap met bebouwing 1906 - 1907

Willem Witsen made this drawing of a landscape with buildings using graphite, a medium that invites mark-making and immediacy. See how the texture of the graphite creates a kind of shimmering effect. The artist seems to be scumbling the graphite into the paper in layers. It makes me think of the way fog blurs the edges of buildings, or how the sun bleaches out colours. Look closely at the lower part of the drawing, and you will see diagonal hatching creating tone and texture. It’s kind of chaotic, right? But then Witsen has laid more definite marks on top. This piece reminds me a little of the drawings of Lovis Corinth. Both artists were interested in ways of using line to suggest the sensation of a place. Neither are trying to capture a scene exactly, but rather suggesting the feeling of being there. And art, after all, is just an ongoing conversation.