item details
NameAn 1891 sketchbook
ProductionPetrus van der Velden; artist; 1891
Classificationsketchbooks, works on paper
Materialscharcoal
Materials Summarysketchbook
DimensionsClosed: 177mm (width), 115mm (height), 20mm (depth)
Registration Number1967-0017-6/1-76 to 76-76
Credit lineGift of W. Fergusson Hogg, 1967
Overview
Immediate impressions
After arriving in New Zealand in 1890, Petrus van der Velden’s preoccupation with capturing the lives of everyday people shifted almost immediately to an interest in the characteristics of the land. His new focus is evident in these sketchbooks.
The Dutch artist travelled around Christchurch, to the Ōtira Gorge in the Southern Alps, to the North Island, and beyond. As he did, he recorded in pencil, charcoal, pen, and paint his immediate impressions of place: the intense green of a hill, a horse and cart rendered with a few scratchy strokes, and preliminary, moody studies of a rocky stream.