Sint-Ignatiuskerk in Rotterdam bij avond 1885 - 1931

Frederika Henriëtte Broeksmit made this print of the Sint-Ignatiuskerk in Rotterdam with soft, muted colours. I wonder what it was like to be Broeksmit, standing there by the water, watching the church at dusk? There’s something comforting in the familiarity of this scene, even though it’s a place I’ve never been. I think she was trying to capture the feeling of the light, that golden haze, and the way the water reflects the sky, and also something about the structure of the church, and I feel like it can take many attempts before arriving at what you see here. The brushstrokes are delicate, almost tentative, and you can almost feel the artist’s hand moving across the paper. It reminds me of some of the early tonalist painters and how they use subtle variations in tone to create atmosphere and mood. The whole thing has a dreamlike quality, as if Broeksmit was trying to capture a fleeting moment. It’s like she’s saying, "Look, this is what I saw, this is how I felt," and that's how artists have inspired each other to create art throughout history.