Gezicht op de binnenzijde van Slot Abcoude 1725

This drawing of the inside of Abcoude Castle was made by Abraham Rademaker in the early 18th century, using pen and brown ink, brush in gray and brown, and possibly watercolor. While Rademaker's choice of media may seem conventional, his real skill was in the close observation of existing structures, and the creation of drawings like this one, which had real commercial value as records of architecture. Note the textures he creates – crumbling stone on one side, versus carefully mortared brickwork on the other. Consider the labor that went into the depicted architecture, the amount of work necessary to maintain them. As the buildings crumble, they reveal their method of construction. The marks of the maker become legible, in contrast to the tiny figures, who seem to occupy a timeless, almost allegorical space. Rademaker’s drawings remind us that observation is itself a form of making, and that even a seemingly straightforward image is a complex layering of skill, intention, and cultural context.