Straathoek met een brug over een gracht 1890 - 1946

Cornelis Vreedenburgh made this drawing, Straathoek met een brug over een gracht, with a graphite pencil, just one of the many tools artists use to see and think. Here, the marks are understated, tentative, as if Vreedenburgh is thinking through the subject. The light touch gives the drawing a sketch-like quality, but the density of lines suggests an attempt to pin down the image. It’s as though the artist is trying to see more clearly, to find some kind of clarity. Look at the area just above the canal. The shapes start to merge together here, the density of marks implying a dark mass. I can almost feel myself there, trying to discern what’s what. The drawing reminds me a little of the work of Giorgio Morandi, who used a limited range of tones to describe the world around him. Vreedenburgh seems to be using the same principle, embracing ambiguity to create a work that is both simple and complex.