Oversteek van de Rijn, 1672 1900 - 1903

Editor: This is *Oversteek van de Rijn, 1672,* a pencil drawing attributed to the Moreau brothers from around 1900. It has a sketchy quality; a sort of unfinished landscape that seems to capture the mere suggestion of movement. What is your take on this? Curator: For me, its charm lies precisely in that incompleteness. Imagine stumbling upon it in a dusty attic—a forgotten study, full of ghosts! Look at the frantic, almost chaotic energy rendered in such delicate graphite. Do you see how the sketchy lines, far from being unfinished, evoke the chaos and energy of such a historical crossing? Editor: I do! It’s as if they’re suggesting form and action rather than depicting it concretely. The light pencil work is really effective. Curator: Exactly! It’s a dance between presence and absence. It reminds me of memory itself – fleeting glimpses rather than sharp focus. The Moreau brothers were really wrestling with something here. Is it the heroism of crossing, the weight of history, or simply, dare I say, the *trying*? Editor: That’s a cool point – the 'trying'! So perhaps less a finished piece about an event and more about… the *process* of an event? Or even about *remembering*? I’m now curious what compelled them to choose this scene! Curator: Maybe, for them, history wasn't about dates and battles, but the blur of movement, the pressure of collective will. Like catching smoke in your hands, isn't it? Art helps us remember that!