Rotslandschap met een waterval en een brug 1834 - 1911

Curator: Welcome! Today, we're looking at "Rocky Landscape with a Waterfall and a Bridge", a pencil drawing by Jozef Israëls, believed to have been created between 1834 and 1911. It’s currently held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. Editor: Oh, wow! It’s wispy, like a dream. It's hard to put my finger on it, but it feels very…romantic. Like something out of a fairy tale. All those delicate lines. Curator: Israëls was, of course, associated with the Hague School, known for its realistic depictions of daily life. While this deviates somewhat from his typical subject matter, it connects to a broader interest in naturalism throughout the 19th century. Travel and landscape study were central to artistic training and exhibition culture. Editor: Realistic? Maybe. But the sketchiness softens everything. It makes the rocks, the bridge, the trees...almost seem to be breathing. It’s like the artist captured the essence of the place rather than every single detail. Like a haiku almost. What were they using landscapes for back then? Curator: The rise of nationalism created this huge fascination for native places; at the same time we also see the emergence of railway tourism in which sites such as this became the location to experience and paint sojourns. They were very loaded spaces. Israëls was not one to resist such pull factors. Editor: Yeah…loaded. All that power and energy contained within a landscape like this, then rendered through pencil into an ethereal experience, a shadow or reflection on paper. I get it. There’s real alchemy here. A world reimagined. Curator: Yes, and I would argue that his very hand is also part of a social story. The artist has moved, visited, thought and drew. These traces remind us of his unique perception on artmaking within a rapidly changing world that had also seen monumental shifts in landscape use. Editor: Thinking about his hands touching this paper a century or more ago…that's heavy. Okay, now I need to go write a poem, a screenplay and maybe build a waterfall myself! Curator: Precisely the reaction I was hoping for. The past made present through art! Editor: Totally. Thanks for sharing this glimpse with me. Really sets my mind to wander in ways I had never planned.