Knotwilgen aan een sloot 1873 - 1932

Here we have 'Knotwilgen aan een sloot', made with pencil by Wilhelmus Johannes Steenhoff. Look at these lines! They are so full of energy, almost vibrating off the page. It's clear Steenhoff wasn't just drawing trees, he was feeling them, capturing their essence. The texture is fascinating, isn’t it? Notice how the pencil strokes vary in pressure and direction, creating a sense of depth and movement. It's like Steenhoff is inviting us to step into this little landscape and experience the quiet rustling of the leaves. Focus on the knot of the tree on the left: it’s a tangle of lines, a kind of chaotic energy, yet somehow it all comes together to form this solid, grounded thing. Steenhoff reminds me of the Barbizon school, these French painters a generation or two earlier. They were also obsessed with capturing the raw beauty of nature, not in some grand, romantic way, but in a more intimate, personal manner. The piece is a reminder that art is always a conversation, an ongoing exploration of what it means to be human in this wild, beautiful world.