Habbema op werkbezoek in Banjir 1910 - 1928

This page of sketches and photographs titled "Habbema op werkbezoek in Banjir" is a 240 by 240 mm mixed media piece of unknown date by an anonymous artist. I see these bamboo shoots rendered with watery washes of green and yellow. It looks like the artist was working really quickly, just trying to capture the fleeting impression of light as it filters through the bamboo. I imagine them standing in the humidity of the scene, swatting at mosquitos and feeling overwhelmed by the task of representing it all. The bamboo shoots remind me of botanical illustrations but also abstract expressionist paintings. I am reminded of the way painters like Joan Mitchell and Helen Frankenthaler painted flowers and landscapes. Like, is botanical illustration a form of landscape painting? I don’t know, but these artists are all in conversation through time. Each response builds on what came before, pushing us toward seeing in new ways.