Huis of hut in een landschap 1895

This is Willem Cornelis Rip's pencil drawing "Huis of hut in een landschap". The sketch invites us into a world of sparse detail, where a landscape and dwelling are evoked through the most minimal of lines. The composition teeters between representation and abstraction. The hut, suggested rather than defined, merges with its setting, challenging our perception of form. Is it a house, or just a collection of lines suggesting shelter? This ambiguity invites a semiotic reading, where the signifier—the lines themselves—struggles to fully embody the signified, the concept of "house." The sketch hovers in a liminal space, questioning the stability of meaning itself. Rip's work reflects a broader artistic concern with dismantling traditional modes of representation. The drawing prompts us to consider how meaning is constructed, negotiated, and ultimately, destabilized through art.