Huis en molen aan een waterkant c. 1868s - 1878s

Curator: This drawing, titled "Huis en molen aan een waterkant," or "House and Mill on a Waterfront," comes to us from Jan Willem van Borselen, around the 1860s-1870s. Executed in pencil on paper, it offers us a glimpse into the artist’s process. Editor: It's fascinating! The gridded page on the left emphasizes the freedom of the drawing on the right. The initial impression is so ethereal; everything is suggested rather than definitively rendered. Curator: The composition is particularly intriguing. Borselen uses the grid to seemingly anchor one side, leaving the other free for an exploration of form. Look at the sketched windmill; notice the complex geometry conveyed with very few lines. It’s like a puzzle being assembled right before our eyes. Editor: The windmill is definitely a powerful symbol here, and mills historically represent industry and the transformation of natural resources. Combined with the domestic scene hinted at—the “huis” or house—one wonders about the values this placement embodies, the relationship between the man-made and the natural world. Curator: Precisely! He masterfully employs line weight to suggest depth and shadow, despite the sketch's minimalistic nature. Notice how a darker stroke gives the suggestion of solid structure, implying mass through tonal variation rather than contour. Editor: It invites reflection on the cultural impact of technology and industrialization in the landscape. Is it a harmonious integration, or does the windmill impose upon a more peaceful domestic sphere represented by the home? The symbols raise many questions without overtly giving answers. Curator: The juxtaposition amplifies the study's contemplative mood. By displaying the raw materiality of the medium and process, he reveals, rather than conceals, his practice. Editor: I concur, examining this drawing gives a greater sense of Borselen’s world, and of how potent even the simplest forms can be. Curator: Indeed. It leaves us considering how so few precise lines can generate so much rich symbolic texture.