Figuren in de duinen 1881 - 1927

Johan Antonie de Jonge made this drawing of figures in the dunes using what looks like a graphite stick or maybe charcoal. The mark making is really direct and process-oriented. What grabs me about this piece is how much texture and depth de Jonge achieves with such a simple palette. Look at the way he layers the marks to create the dense foliage in the foreground, and the way the light filters through the trees in the background. The surface is alive with energy. I love how the marks accumulate to evoke the scene. There are these two figures walking in the distance, and they’re almost swallowed up by the landscape, but they’re there, these little marks which imply a human presence in the natural world. De Jonge’s work reminds me of the landscape drawings of Hercules Segers – both artists find a kind of sublime beauty in the everyday, in the act of looking and mark-making. Ultimately, it’s not about capturing a scene perfectly, but about the experience of being in it.