Ruïne van het Huis Tijlingen te Sassenheim 1792

Carel Lodewijk Hansen made this drawing of the Ruin of Huis Tijlingen in Sassenheim with pen and brush in grey ink and graphite. Notice how the artist captures the rough, weathered texture of the stonework, emphasized by the use of grey ink, a medium easily applied with variable pressure, allowing Hansen to build up tone and shadow to give a sense of three-dimensionality. The graphite adds subtle nuances, especially in the rendering of the sky and water, creating a soft atmospheric effect. The ruin itself speaks to the passage of time and the decay of material structures. Drawing architecture required technical precision but also an understanding of how materials age, crumble, and are reclaimed by nature. Hansen’s technique mirrors this process, layering and blending to evoke the ruin’s slow transformation. In valuing these qualities, the drawing elevates the ruin from a mere historical relic to a subject of aesthetic contemplation, challenging any strict separation of artistic representation and the material reality it depicts.