Waterval Possibly 1858 - 1859

This is Johannes Tavenraat's "Waterval," held in the Rijksmuseum. Working in the early to mid-19th century, Tavenraat was part of a generation grappling with the aftershocks of revolution and industrialization. Here, we see a sketch, alive with movement, attempting to capture the dynamism of a waterfall. But it’s not just a waterfall; it’s an emotional landscape. Tavenraat’s note on the sketch, talks of "cool mass" and "warm Jon partjer" and "shadow gleams." The interplay of light and shadow isn't merely a visual effect, it evokes a sense of depth and mystery, an invitation into a space where nature and human emotion intertwine. The drawing is incomplete, with loose sketches of nature scenes, the text interacts with the drawing offering insight into his thought process. Tavenraat pushes beyond the traditional picturesque, he offers instead, a kind of proto-impressionistic rendering of experience. What does it mean to capture not just a scene, but also the feeling of being within it, caught in the cascade of nature's forces? "Waterval" invites us to contemplate our own relationship to nature.