Kroonprins Willem Frederik George Lodewijk bij de Slag bij Waterloo en Fleurus 1815

Curator: Ah, yes, this drawing has always struck me with its starkness. It's Jan Kamphuijsen's rendering of Crown Prince Willem Frederik George Lodewijk at the Battle of Waterloo and Fleurus, dating back to 1815. Executed in pencil, it possesses a certain raw immediacy. Editor: There's an unsettling dynamism to it. All that smoke and sketched-out chaos almost made me cough when I first saw it! The pale greys add to this haunting feeling, like it's a ghost story caught on paper. Curator: The dynamism you mention stems in part from Kamphuijsen's command of line and composition. Note how he's used the diagonals formed by the charging horses and fallen soldiers to create movement and lead the eye deeper into the conflict. Editor: Right. It feels less like a glorification of war and more like a brutal snapshot. Look at the faces… or what we can make out of them. Pure terror etched into charcoal, it reminds me a lot of Goya's Disasters of War. But in pencil! What are your thoughts? Curator: Interesting parallel, though Kamphuijsen, working within the Romantic idiom, is likely striving for a more heroic portrayal. The Crown Prince, central on horseback, is meant to embody courage, while the swirling smoke suggests the intensity of battle—an almost sublime experience. Editor: Sublimely awful, maybe? All that destruction! Though you have a point. It's hard to miss that raised sword of the Prince… He clearly tried to put the focus on bravery amid the blood. I'm probably just scarred by all that implied pencil violence. Curator: The medium, while simple, powerfully underscores the scene's rawness. Pencil, unlike paint, doesn't allow for easy embellishment, forcing a directness of expression that lends itself well to capturing such a pivotal, emotionally charged historical moment. Editor: Absolutely. It's like looking into someone's memory of war rather than an idealized version of it. It makes you wonder about the individual stories buried in that chaotic landscape. Curator: Indeed. Kamphuijsen's sketch serves not only as a historical document but as a poignant meditation on the human cost of conflict. Editor: Leaving us, as it should, with a disquieting and memorable visual experience.