Lezende vrouw op een kruk aan het strand 1890 - 1946

This is a study of heads and figures on the beach in pencil on paper by Cornelis Vreedenburgh. There is something immediate about the casual drawing style and page of collected observations, like a visual diary. Look at the way Vreedenburgh captures the light reflecting off the beach. There’s this really lovely economy of line in the way he captures the figure in the lower centre, reading on a stool. The composition is all about the push and pull of the marks on the page, and the contrast between the open space and the areas of denser hatching. You can see a real interest in how light shapes form and describes character. It reminds me a bit of the sketchbooks of Manet, a similar interest in capturing fleeting moments and everyday scenes. The sketch has a sense of openness, embracing multiple perspectives and possibilities, rather than aiming for one fixed meaning.