Rivierlandschap met twee figuren in een boot 1909

Johan Antonie de Jonge made this sketch of a river landscape with two figures in a boat with graphite on paper. I like how the whole composition seems to emerge from a cloud of hatched marks. You can see the hand of the artist moving across the paper, building up the image, not really trying to describe the scene perfectly. It's more of a vibe, you know? The dark marks that make up the tree on the left feel kind of anxious, energetic even, and they draw my eye in. It’s interesting to see how he uses marks to define space, like those horizontal scribbles suggesting water reflecting the sky. It makes me think about other landscape artists like Hercules Segers, who was also interested in using atmospheric effects to create a feeling of spaciousness. De Jonge almost makes the landscape seem to dematerialize before our eyes; that is, until we notice that boat, right there, in the middle ground.