Papierfabriek 1870 - 1931

Editor: Here we have Willem Bastiaan Tholen’s "Papierfabriek", made sometime between 1870 and 1931. It’s a drawing using pencil and etching. The scene is dominated by these enormous stacks of paper and workers inside a paper mill. There’s a real sense of industry and almost oppressive weight in those piles. What strikes you most when you look at this work? Curator: The tension resides precisely in what you observed. Look closely: Tholen orchestrates a delicate balance between the inherent flatness of the drawing surface and the illusion of three-dimensionality. The hatching, the cross-hatching in particular, functions to create tonal depth and models forms like the paper stacks and figures. Yet, the linework itself always remains visibly present, denying complete illusionism. Do you see that interplay? Editor: I do! It’s like he’s constantly reminding us we’re looking at lines on paper, even while suggesting depth. It stops it from being a purely realist piece, right? Curator: Precisely. Consider also the composition. The artist frames the scene, leading your eye to wander in a distinct choreography. Note the repeated rectangles: the paper stacks, the windows, the ceiling beams. Do they establish a rhythmic structure or a sense of constraint? Perhaps both? Editor: Both, definitely! It’s structured but also feels very confined. All those lines sort of trap your eye. I guess I hadn't considered the shapes within the image that strongly until now! Curator: Tholen manages to suggest the dreariness of labor in a factory and highlight geometrical forms. Perhaps the subject isn't labor, per se, but the geometry revealed within a specific place of industry. What a marvel. Editor: Seeing how you focus on those elements—the line, shape, form—it really brings a whole different dimension to understanding it. Thanks!