Kerkplein in Neede 1893 - 1913

Albert Hemelman made this drawing of Kerkplein in Neede with pen in hand. Just imagine him there, feeling the rough paper under his hand, the tip of his pen dancing across the surface. I feel the stillness in this drawing, and the precision of the lines, and I wonder what Hemelman was thinking about as he made it. Did he want to capture the feeling of the place, or just to record what it looked like? The way the light falls on the buildings, the details of the trees – it all feels so careful and considered. There’s a rhythm and pattern that feels almost musical. Hemelman has his own way of seeing, but he’s part of a long line of artists who’ve tried to capture the world around them. We are all in conversation, all borrowing and building on each other’s ideas. Painting is like that, too – it’s always evolving, always changing, always open to new interpretations.