Figuren op een kade c. 1935 - 1936

Cornelis Vreedenburgh made this pencil sketch, Figuren op een kade, at an unknown date. The artist has built up the image through a series of light, tentative marks. I can just imagine him as he lightly put the marks down, trying to find out what was there on the page. It’s so delicate and unassuming. He's trying to figure out something about how to put things in space, and how figures relate to that space. I feel as though Vreedenburgh is looking for a way to capture the essence of the scene, rather than its details. It’s almost as though he is asking himself what is essential. It shows that artists are in an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time, inspiring one another’s creativity. And for me, painting is a form of embodied expression which embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations and meaning.