Forest Scene

In this signed drawing, Verboom rendered his impression of a grove of trees in the forest with fluent, open strokes of brown ink. His distinctive drawing style is recognizable throughout the sheet: curved lines with pronged ends similar to a serpentine forked tongue are visible in the branches; long grasses in the foreground are executed in semicircular or scalloped strokes; and the clouds are drawn with quick, oblong scalloped lines. Together with the signature, his subtle application of watercolor in tones of yellow and blue gives the sheet its highly finished appearance. Borrowing the use of colored washes from Jacob Ruisdael (1628/29-1682) to create a jewel of a drawing, Verboom demonstrates his talents. The tight cropping of the composition with the placement of the trees to the very top of the sheet gives a majestic presence to the shimmering trees as they recede deep into the forest.