Landschap c. 1915 - 1920

Willem Witsen made this landscape drawing with graphite on paper, and it's like catching a thought as it forms. The marks are tentative, searching – the kind you make when you're figuring things out. Look at how the graphite is layered, rubbed, and blurred. It's all about process here, a real sense of the hand moving across the page. You can almost feel the artist's breath on the paper, you know? The texture is soft, almost hazy, which gives the landscape a dreamlike quality. Notice that dark cluster of marks near the top, like a gathering storm? It’s balanced by the lighter, sketchier marks below, creating a sense of depth and atmosphere. It reminds me a little bit of Corot, that same love of tone and mood, but with a more modern, immediate feel. It’s a reminder that art is a conversation, an ongoing exploration, not just a finished product.