Rotswand 1876 - 1924

Editor: Gerrit Willem Dijsselhof created this pencil and graphite drawing, titled “Rotswand,” sometime between 1876 and 1924. It feels so unfinished and ephemeral. What strikes me most is the contrast between the darker, more defined lower portion and the light, almost hazy upper section. How do you interpret this work from a formal perspective? Curator: Observe how Dijsselhof articulates depth solely through line and tone. Note the strategic use of hatching and cross-hatching. It is especially visible in the lower section, where dense mark-making renders mass and volume, against the comparatively spare and delicate lines that evoke a receding distance. Consider the implications of such a choice: to foreground material reality, perhaps, while simultaneously gesturing to an intangible beyond. Editor: So, the stark contrast isn’t accidental but a deliberate strategy to draw attention to the techniques used? Is there any hierarchy in the arrangement of tones? Curator: Precisely. We see a considered ordering of elements: denser graphite accumulates at the base, progressively thinning towards the upper reaches of the composition. Note too, how the energy of line transitions from sharp angles below to flowing, curvilinear gestures above. Does this not intimate an evolution, a transformation of form itself? What impression does this give you? Editor: It makes me consider the fundamental nature of form – how it's built and how it changes. The different densities of line and tone really underscore the building blocks of representation. I appreciate the emphasis on materiality over subject matter in this particular work. Curator: Indeed. Through such a meticulously constructed visual rhetoric, Dijsselhof urges us to contemplate the essence of pictorial construction.