Loofbomen aan het water 1872 - 1939

Egbert Rubertus Derk Schaap made this drawing of leafy trees by the water with what looks like charcoal or maybe conté crayon. I love seeing the hand in a work, especially when it’s as apparent as it is here. The texture is all, right? The rough tooth of the paper, the smudging and hatching, the way the dark marks build up to create depth. It’s almost like the artist is feeling their way through the scene, letting the charcoal lead them. Look how the strokes on the left are more vertical and dense. It gives you a sense of a solid mass of trees. Then, on the right, the lines become thinner and more scattered, suggesting the delicate branches reaching out. That one dark, almost scribbled mark at the base of the right tree… it’s like a little burst of energy, grounding the whole composition. Schaap's got this Whistler-esque vibe, that same quiet, tonal approach. Ultimately, art is a conversation, an echo of ideas through time.