Bosgezicht met zwaar geboomte 1870 - 1923

Editor: We're looking at Willem Witsen's "Bosgezicht met zwaar geboomte", which roughly translates to "Forest View with Heavy Trees". Created between 1870 and 1923, it's a drawing rendered with charcoal and colored pencil on toned paper. It feels so… quiet, almost contemplative. The light is incredible. What stands out to you? Curator: Quiet is a brilliant word for it! For me, this isn't just a forest; it's a feeling. Notice how Witsen uses the charcoal to give weight to the trunks, but then the colored pencil almost…breathes life into the leaves? It’s like he's trying to capture not just the physical space, but the *soul* of the woods. Does that make sense? It almost feels like you could get lost in there, in your thoughts as much as in the trees. Have you ever had that feeling of being overwhelmed, yet calmed, by a forest? Editor: Absolutely. It’s a powerful feeling. Do you think the incomplete edge on the right side affects how we perceive it? Is it a window, or a fragment? Curator: Ooh, good question! I think it adds to the sense of being in a moment. It’s unfinished, just like our experiences. And it cleverly hints at the endlessness of nature itself. Perhaps Witsen didn’t want to define the experience with a definite border; better to let our minds wander and wonder! It invites us to continue the landscape, somehow. What does that open edge mean to you? Editor: I like the idea of it being an invitation. I hadn't considered that. Now I’m seeing it less as incomplete, and more as… boundless. It's amazing how a seemingly simple drawing can hold so much. Curator: Precisely! It's not just trees on paper; it's a portal, a poem, a place for reverie. That’s the magic, isn't it?