Rivierlandschap met molen 1869 - 1870

Editor: We're looking at Johannes Tavenraat's "Rivierlandschap met molen," or "River Landscape with Mill," created around 1869-1870. It's an ink drawing, currently held at the Rijksmuseum. It's such a delicate sketch, and the scene feels both familiar and distant, like a memory. What do you see when you look at this, particularly in the context of Dutch Golden Age landscapes? Curator: Ah, Tavenraat. He captures a moment, doesn’t he? A breath of wind on the water, the lowlands hugging the sky. To me, it feels like dipping into a dream about the Dutch Golden Age. It's definitely evoking that style, but there's a freedom in the lines, wouldn’t you agree? It’s not as precisely rendered as, say, a meticulously finished etching by Rembrandt, yet that lends an air of authenticity, don’t you think? It whispers rather than shouts, a personal reflection, almost a meditative act, using the familiar iconography of the period to contemplate... perhaps a longing for simpler times. Editor: I hadn't thought about the looseness of the lines as adding to the feeling, but that makes so much sense! Is it fair to say he was being intentionally nostalgic, or could it just be that this was the scenery he knew? Curator: It's always a bit of both, isn't it? The world around us shapes us, and we, in turn, shape it in our art. I imagine Tavenraat wandering these landscapes, letting them sink into his soul, then letting it all flow out through his pen. The degree to which that was "intentional" is perhaps less interesting than the *result* – a tangible sense of time and place infused with personal sentiment. What does this "memory" make you feel? Does it make you want to stroll alongside this scenery or just think from it? Editor: I feel invited in, definitely. And the lack of precise detail actually makes it easier to imagine *my* river, *my* mill, if that makes sense. Thanks for untangling some of that for me! Curator: My pleasure. It is through our dialogue with the artist that we unlock more perspectives of the artwork, and I would have to say that I gained new lenses from yours!