Prins Hendrikkade met de Nicolaaskerk te Amsterdam 1890 - 1946

Cornelis Vreedenburgh made this drawing of Prins Hendrikkade with the Nicolaaskerk in Amsterdam with graphite on paper. There is a wonderful immediacy to this sketch, the artist’s process feels exposed. I'm really drawn to the texture that Vreedenburgh creates through the accumulation of marks. Look closely at the way he renders the branches of the trees, it's almost scribbled, but somehow conveys the gnarled character of the winter trees against the skyline. The artist shows us how simple materials, like paper and graphite, can be transformed into something evocative. The way the tones of the graphite create depth and shadow is almost like a memory of place, a feeling that is gestural and ephemeral. Reminds me a little of Twombly, don't you think? The same joy in mark making, the pleasure in the process of drawing.