Gezicht op Maastricht, 1672 1900 - 1903

The frères Moreau made this view of Maastricht in 1672 with brush and grey wash. It's all about process, isn’t it? You can almost feel them working, smudging the brush around to create those atmospheric washes, figuring out the angles of the city walls. I love the way the grey wash blurs the details, giving the whole scene a dreamlike quality. It’s so immediate, you can almost smell the damp earth and the smoky haze of the siege. Look at the way the wash pools and gathers in the lower left, creating a sense of depth and shadow. It is a simple wash, but its simplicity reminds me of a Cy Twombly painting, the kind of drawing you can only achieve by a lifetime dedicated to mark making. Both artists remind us that art is a conversation across time, where ideas are constantly being reinterpreted and reimagined.