Bomen 1872 - 1939

Egbert Rubertus Derk Schaap made this drawing of trees with pencil on paper. I can almost feel the artist outside with their pad and pencil, squinting in the grey light, deciding which lines to include, which to leave out. It is a study of form, shadow, and light, of course, but more than that, it's a translation of experience. Look at the scumbling marks on the floor of the forest, how they vibrate and suggest a carpet of decaying matter. Schaap is wrestling with all of art history, with the Barbizon school, with impressionism, with his peers. You can feel the struggle in the marks. When I look at this drawing, I’m reminded that artists are always in conversation with each other, across time. We learn from each other, steal from each other, and push each other to see the world in new ways. It’s a beautiful, messy, and never-ending process.