Rivierlandschap met molen 1872 - 1939

This river landscape with a windmill by Egbert Rubertus Derk Schaap is made with a pencil on paper. I can imagine Schaap with his pad in hand, carefully and contemplatively drawing the scene. The thin lines of the pencil create the basic structure of the clouds, reflections, and foliage. It is almost ghostly; a vision emerging from the landscape. You know, I think of Constable drawing clouds, and how he felt he could capture something truthful about the fleetingness of nature. It's like Schaap is exploring a world of light and shadow, inviting us to see things in a new way, a way that’s both dreamlike and grounded in observation. It reminds me that every artist, in their own way, is trying to figure out what it means to be alive, to experience the world, and to share that experience with others.