Figuren op een open veld bij een gebouw met vier torens 1890 - 1946

Here’s a pencil sketch by Cornelis Vreedenburgh, probably made outside, in front of the subject. It's so immediate, right? I mean, you can see how the artist quickly captured the scene with these scratchy, confident marks. Look at the way he’s described the tree trunk, so much texture, so much hatching. I can imagine him, squinting slightly, holding his pencil loosely, letting his hand move almost automatically across the paper. It feels like Vreedenburgh wasn't trying to create a finished piece, but rather trying to record a moment, a feeling. He's made a note to himself about what it was like to be there, in that place. I love how one artist can have a conversation with another across time, just by looking at these marks, which are so unpretentious and honest. It reminds me that painting, drawing – all art, really – is just a form of thinking out loud, or thinking in public.