Landschap met bomen aan het water 1870 - 1931

Editor: Here we have Willem Bastiaan Tholen's "Landschap met bomen aan het water," which roughly translates to "Landscape with trees on the water." It's an ink and pencil drawing that was created sometime between 1870 and 1931. It feels very immediate, like a fleeting moment captured in graphite. What jumps out at you when you look at it? Curator: Well, it's a tricky one, isn't it? Because it's a study, it's meant to be more about the process than the final picture. For me, it speaks of that quiet moment when you're observing the world, the trees mirrored in the water...it feels almost dreamlike, would you agree? A conversation between what’s solid and what's reflected. And that reflection, of course, is never quite true. Editor: I can see that. It's very gestural, not trying to be photographic at all. You can see where he's worked and reworked lines, searching for the form. Curator: Precisely. It’s a dialogue between the artist and the landscape. Tholen is almost feeling his way through the scene, capturing its essence rather than a precise representation. Think about it as him listening to the landscape, scribbling down notes in a visual language. The smudging even looks like whispers! I find myself wondering what was on his mind that day. Did he feel a sense of calm? Was he capturing a favorite childhood spot? Editor: So it's less about accurately depicting a specific place, and more about conveying a feeling or an impression of being in that place? Curator: Exactly. It’s that in-between space, isn't it? It feels less about "this *is* a tree" and more "this is what it feels like to *be* near a tree by the water." And there's such intimacy to that! What will you remember the most about this study? Editor: Definitely the dreamlike quality, and the sense of the artist working through their impressions right on the page. It makes you feel closer to the creative process, doesn't it? Curator: Absolutely, and that immediacy allows us to dream alongside the artist, a beautiful shared experience.