Studie, mogelijk een gezicht 1890 - 1946

Here's a sketch by Cornelis Vreedenburgh that you can find at the Rijksmuseum. It is what you might call a minimal gesture – a wavering grey mark against a creamy page. I imagine the artist with a stick of charcoal, testing its potential, or perhaps trying to conjure a face out of thin air. The line is tentative, searching, like a question mark that never quite resolves. The artist has captured something fleeting, elusive, like a memory half-forgotten or a dream on the verge of disappearing. There's a certain vulnerability in its simplicity. It reminds me of the sketchbooks of other artists – Cy Twombly comes to mind, or even some of Agnes Martin's quieter works. It speaks to the power of suggestion, the beauty of imperfection, and the endless possibilities contained within a single mark. It is like artists are all talking to each other across time, inspiring each other's creativity!