The City Walls of Utrecht by the "Plompetoren"

Discussion

FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

Delicately and fastidiously wrought, this view of the bend in a canal documents a specific place and time. Liender, who preferred topographical and architectural subjects throughout his career, drew this view of the Utrecht city walls with the Plompetoren (Hulking Tower) on several occasions. The knife-edge precision in varying the saturation of the ink and wash helps create the illusion of the glassy surface of the canal at the lower center of this drawing. Despite the care with which the structures and foliage are depicted, more than half of the drawn sheet is devoted to an ethereal description of light and air.

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