Ruïne van het Huis te Kleef bij Haarlem 1741 - 1795

Cornelis van Noorde made this pen and wash drawing, titled "Ruïne van het Huis te Kleef bij Haarlem," employing sepia ink to depict a scene of ruin and decay. Dominating the composition is the skeletal silhouette of the ruined house, rendered with a stark verticality that contrasts with the horizontal landscape. The artist’s precise linework captures the crumbling texture of the ruins, evoking a sense of time and the inevitable disintegration of structures. Van Noorde's placement of cattle amidst the ruins subtly challenges the traditional pastoral idyll. The cows graze indifferently amid the ruins, disrupting any sense of heroic narrative. The drawing serves as a contemplation on temporality and the transience of human endeavor, as the formal elements work together to destabilize any singular reading, leaving us to consider the complex interplay between nature, culture, and time.