Duinlandschap met gezicht op zee 1906

Jan Toorop made this chalk drawing, "Dune Landscape with a View of the Sea," a little over a century ago. The colour palette is muted, natural, and the mark making seems immediate, like something made on the spot. It looks like layers of coloured chalk have been applied, building up a soft, almost hazy atmosphere. Up in the right corner, there's this cluster of orange and yellow marks that suggest plantlife, like the crest of a sand dune. These marks, though small, feel so full of life and energy. They remind me of Van Gogh's expressive brushstrokes, even though the medium here is chalk, not paint. Toorop's piece feels like a moment captured, a breath of fresh air on a windy day. It's an interesting precursor to artists like Mondrian, who also explored the Dutch landscape but took it in a very different, abstract direction. Art is just one big conversation, isn't it?