Gezicht op de Amstel en de Magere Brug 1890 - 1946

Cornelis Vreedenburgh made this drawing of the Amstel and the Magere Brug with pencil on paper. Look at the delicacy of those marks. I can see him out there, squinting in the sunshine. He seems to be trying to make an image of this everyday scene. The composition is fairly standard. The eye travels towards that bridge, a focal point in the distance. The arrangement of the boats leads us there. I wonder how he felt about all these motifs, did he feel compelled to depict them just so? I see a lot of different marks – long, short, light, dark. What a wonderful and humble way of looking and drawing. It reminds me of what Guston said, something about just trying to draw what’s in front of you. It takes so much courage to just sit with a thing, just looking, until slowly an image starts to emerge. Vreedenburgh's mark-making is quiet. He seems to have been in conversation with the scene in front of him. I like that.