Pad in een landschap 1890 - 1946

Cornelis Vreedenburgh made this landscape drawing with graphite on paper. The wispy lines and tonal variations give it a delicate feel. It’s like the scene is emerging, almost shyly, from the page. I can imagine Vreedenburgh out in a field, quickly trying to capture what he saw. He’s not precious about it, not trying to make it perfect. There’s a kind of urgency to the marks, as if he’s racing against the changing light or a fleeting feeling. I wonder what he was thinking about as he made it? Was he happy? Sad? Pensive? The way he’s used the graphite – sometimes pressing hard, sometimes barely touching the paper – creates a range of textures and depths. It’s like he’s not just drawing what he sees, but also how he feels about what he sees. It makes me think of other landscape artists, like Constable, who were trying to capture the emotional essence of a place. It reminds me that artists are always building on what came before, in a kind of beautiful, never-ending conversation.