Gezicht op het Russische station te Malye Karmakuly, Nova Zembla 1880

Curator: Look at this unassuming pencil sketch! It’s titled "Gezicht op het Russische station te Malye Karmakuly, Nova Zembla," or "View of the Russian station at Malye Karmakuly, Novaya Zemlya" by Louis Apol, from 1880. It is currently held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. What’s your first reaction? Editor: Sparse! And isolated. Those faint pencil lines suggest a place that feels truly on the edge of the world. You immediately sense a chilling quietness. Curator: Apol captures that isolated atmosphere beautifully, doesn’t he? There’s a definite symbolic language at play here too. That stark cross... the rudimentary buildings… what stories might they hold? Editor: Well, crosses often speak to faith and perseverance in harsh conditions. I notice how the artist paired it with two poles nearby, the symbolism feels doubled in a way, almost emphasizing the necessity of shelter. And then the buildings… they seem incredibly vulnerable against that wide, empty landscape. A metaphor for the fragility of human existence, maybe? Curator: It's certainly possible to read it that way, and yet Apol avoids sentimentality. It's a study, not a grand statement. Perhaps the slight sketchiness speaks to this too? We get just enough information. He might just be laying down an idea to explore at length in the studio later. The eye can travel, wander the page in a way it doesn’t do with a polished piece. Editor: Exactly! It invites our projection, our filling-in of the blanks. Those jagged rock formations in the foreground mirror the implied harshness of the weather and amplify the solemn religious symbols on display. Are those rocks protecting the station? Or merely indifferent? Curator: That’s the question, isn’t it? This sketch gives so little and, therefore, allows us to come to so many conclusions! What looks like nothing much is so rich. I'll look at Louis Apol's oeuvre from a slightly different perspective after this conversation! Editor: It does feel remarkably pregnant with possibilities, for sure. That single, sketchy figure near the cross really emphasizes our own isolation while considering this lonely landscape. Thank you, Louis, for this window into the remote and unknown.