Historie door Waarheid onderricht 1677 - 1755

Elias van Nijmegen made this drawing, "Historie door Waarheid onderricht," with pen and watercolor. It’s a relatively quick and informal medium, compared to say, oil painting, and that helps explain the immediacy we feel when looking at it. Nijmegen was an accomplished decorative painter, and here he’s using line and color to allegorize truth and history. The free, flowing quality of the watercolor gives an ethereal feel to the figures of Truth and History. Look closely, and you can see how the pen lines define the shapes and forms, while the washes of watercolor add depth and atmosphere. The sketch-like quality suggests that this may have been a preliminary design for a larger work, perhaps a ceiling painting or tapestry. It provides a fascinating glimpse into the artist's creative process, and the role of drawing in the development of larger artistic projects during this period. Ultimately, it reminds us that even seemingly simple materials like pen and watercolor can be used to create complex and meaningful works of art.