Zeilboten 1890 - 1946

Cornelis Vreedenburgh made this sketch of sailboats without a date at the Rijksmuseum. Can you see the graphite gliding over the page, capturing the essence of the boats with such simple, yet evocative lines? I can almost feel the breeze and hear the gentle lapping of water against the hulls. I wonder what Vreedenburgh was thinking as he quickly captured the image—was he trying to capture the fleeting moment, the way the light caught the sails, or perhaps the feeling of freedom and adventure that the boats represented? I love how Vreedenburgh suggests form and volume with just a few strokes, like a shorthand for seeing. The drawing embodies the idea that painting and drawing are a way of thinking, a way of understanding the world through making marks. It's like he's having a conversation with the paper, each line a response to the previous one. And, maybe, in a way, we’re all having that same conversation, years later, connected by this little sketch.