Studie, mogelijk een roeiboot 1890 - 1946

This is Cornelis Vreedenburgh's sketch, "Studie, mogelijk een roeiboot," housed here at the Rijksmuseum. Vreedenburgh, who lived through both World Wars, had a strong connection to the Dutch landscape. In this sketch, we see the skeletal form of what might be a rowboat, drawn with an economy of line. Think about the Netherlands, a country intimately tied to its waterways, a place where boats are not just recreational but fundamental to the culture and economy. How might this context influence Vreedenburgh's choice of subject? There is a quietness to this sketch, a sense of something elemental and human. Perhaps this sketch speaks to the resilience and adaptability required to navigate both the physical waters and the turbulent currents of life. It reminds us of the simple tools that connect us to the world and to each other.