View of Abcoude, Seen from the North c. 1646 - 1647

Roelant Roghman created this drawing, "View of Abcoude, Seen from the North" using pen and brown ink with gray wash on paper. The composition is neatly divided into three horizontal registers. The bottom register is a monochromatic field. Above, the middle register renders a cluster of trees partially obscuring the view of a fortress. The fortress is a compilation of geometric volumes: the cylinder of the tower, the triangular roof, and the cuboid structure which meet in a harmonious, asymmetrical convergence. The upper register is the sky, a seemingly blank space which creates a sense of distance. Roghman frames the architectural and natural forms with his stark use of line. Here, each line serves as both a boundary and a bridge between elements, creating an interdependence where nothing exists in isolation. This interdependence, which creates a unity, may function as a visual metaphor of nature and culture coexisting in a single plane.