Notities 1914 - 1916

Curator: Right in front of us we have "Notities", a mixed-media piece on paper, incorporating pencil, pen and ink, created by Willem Cornelis Rip between 1914 and 1916. It appears to be a page from a sketchbook. Editor: Ah, instantly I feel drawn to its intimacy. The cramped handwriting gives it such a personal, almost secretive aura. It feels like a fleeting glimpse into someone's private thoughts. Is it just me, or is there a melancholy feel to it? Curator: I wouldn't disagree. Sketchbooks often function as visual diaries, capturing fleeting thoughts and impressions. Here, we see the presence of hand-lettering, aged paper, and what appears to be a series of notations, abstracted with symbolic undercurrents characteristic of modernism at that time. The visible erasures and crossings-out… it gives it an ephemeral quality, like catching thoughts on the wind. Editor: Absolutely, there is a real tension there between revealing and concealing! All these barely legible figures and scratched-out words hint at a bigger picture. And the penmanship, with the lines dancing and almost colliding… it adds a layer of nervous energy, maybe even reflecting a chaotic inner landscape. Is there anything to decode in these mysterious notations, or are they deliberately obscured? Curator: While specific decryption is elusive, the act of notation itself is highly symbolic. During that period in art history, there was significant interest in capturing the immediacy of perception. Consider how abstract that form is to us today – a list, maybe accounts. But consider this level of writing as a preservation of memory. These notations now act as ghostly imprints, hinting at deeper contexts while remaining ultimately open to interpretation. It leaves us with a palpable sense of both presence and absence. Editor: What a dance it is. Even now, my eyes keep moving, like searching for clues among the faded inscriptions, a quiet witness to bygone days. It prompts reflection on the fragile nature of memory itself. And on how little is needed to transmit so much feeling. Thanks to that beautiful ambiguity, the conversation lives on! Curator: Indeed! "Notities" is a subtle, resonant piece of modernism that reflects a key attribute of Willem Cornelis Rip's craft. Now, if you’ll follow me, we can delve into how he expresses more personal symbolism within larger, and sometimes more realized, painting compositions.