Gezicht op de noordzijde van het Rokin met het oude Beurspleintje c. 1911 - 1912

Here is a delicate cityscape drawn by Tinus de Jongh, showing the Rokin in Amsterdam. I can imagine the artist making this; each tiny line is a decision, right? I feel like I'm watching the scene emerge. It’s almost like he’s knitting the buildings together, stitch by stitch. I wonder if he was cold. I am also thinking about Whistler, or maybe Canaletto, and how different artists see the world in different ways and we get to see it through them. Look at the way he’s drawn the water, so still it's reflecting the buildings. It makes me wonder, how do you capture a moment? How do you make something still when everything’s moving? That tiny horse and cart - beautiful. It's like a whisper, an echo from the past. Artists, they're always talking to each other, even when they don't know it. It’s one long conversation through time.