Kasteel op een heuvel 1912

Editor: So, this is "Castle on a Hill" by Lodewijk Schelfhout, drawn in 1912. It’s a pencil drawing. I’m immediately struck by how geometric everything feels, even though it’s a landscape. What’s your take on this? Curator: Geometric, yes! And did you notice how the lines create a feeling of upward movement? It is as if the hill itself is pushing towards the castle. The artist has taken the mundane, everyday, you know – hills, trees, a castle – and given it this intense, almost spiritual energy. The way he's manipulated the pencil, creating these sharp, defined edges... almost like stained glass. Editor: Stained glass? That’s an interesting connection. I hadn't thought about it that way. The dark lines definitely give it a kind of solemnity. Do you think the limited tonal range contributes to that as well? Curator: Absolutely! Imagine if this were bursting with colour; the feeling would be completely different. It might be light, joyous, and frivolous. But Schelfhout has pared it back, inviting us to delve deeper, to see the underlying structure, the strength, even the melancholy in the architecture of the natural world and of the man-made too, perhaps. Editor: It definitely feels heavier now that you mention the melancholy, I can’t unsee it now. I find myself pondering about the person looking back, or forward in time; it might well have a memory effect, a sort of memento-drawing. Curator: It’s curious, isn’t it, how a simple pencil sketch can evoke so much? Schelfhout is showing us that even in apparent stillness, there's a drama playing out, or waiting to. Editor: Definitely something to ponder. Thanks!