Huis met een rieten dak 1834 - 1903

This is Johan Hendrik Weissenbruch’s pencil drawing of a house with a thatched roof. Look at how Weissenbruch uses the simplest of means to create a complex interplay of light and form. Notice the sketch’s composition. The thatched roof looms large, dominating the view, while the rest of the house is almost an afterthought. Weissenbruch captures the texture of the thatch with short, choppy lines, juxtaposed with the smoother surfaces of the building’s walls. This attention to texture, combined with a muted palette, suggests a quiet, unassuming scene. Weissenbruch was part of the Hague School, a group of Dutch artists known for their realist landscapes. Yet, here, he seems to be moving beyond mere representation, focusing instead on the formal qualities of the scene before him. What emerges is not just a house, but an exploration of line, tone, and texture. Through his unique handling of the pencil, Weissenbruch elevates the mundane to the level of art.