Rijtjeshuizen 1923

Alexander Shilling made this drawing of houses with pencil on paper, and it has this lovely, immediate feel to it, like he was just figuring things out. Look at how he uses these vertical lines to create the houses; they are like a curtain, hanging down and making the shapes out of this simple gesture. The texture of the pencil against the paper creates a kind of vibration, where light and shadow seem to flicker. It is almost like he is not so interested in the specific details of the buildings, but more interested in the process of describing them. The houses are solid, but they are also dissolving, as if they might disappear at any moment. Think of Van Gogh's drawings, where line becomes a way of expressing inner states, and you’ll get a sense of what Shilling is up to here. It's a fleeting impression, a moment captured, and in that, there's a real beauty.