Gezicht op Drachenfels aan de Rijn c. 1860 - 1865

This is Maria Vos’ pencil drawing, "View of the Drachenfels on the Rhine," held at the Rijksmuseum. The drawing captures a broad landscape with a focus on the Drachenfels rock formation. Vos uses delicate lines to define the contours of the hills and the flow of the Rhine river, creating a sense of depth and distance. The texture is achieved through varied densities of hatching, giving the landscape a tactile quality. Vos’ technique here invites us to consider the relationship between representation and reality. How does she capture the essence of a place with such minimal means? This has less to do with the depiction of the Rhine River. More, it has to do with the very structure of seeing, and the way we make sense of space and form through art.