Eigenhandige aantekeningen gehouden door P. Hennequin, als Luitenant en Kapitein Ingenieur dienende geweest bij de Verenigde Nederlanden,...... Possibly 1793 - 1797

Curator: Here we have “Eigenhandige aantekeningen gehouden door P. Hennequin…” a fascinating sketchbook, dating possibly between 1793 and 1797. It comprises drawings executed in ink on paper, offering a rare glimpse into the mind of Pieter Hennequin. Editor: My first impression is one of fragility, both in the material and in the narrative suggested. The aged paper and faded ink evoke a palpable sense of time passing and the fleeting nature of lived experience. Curator: Indeed. Notice the composition: The ruled lines barely visible underneath faded text offer structure that contains, yet cannot restrain, the fluid strokes of the cursive handwriting and sketches, typical of the Dutch Golden Age. Editor: Let’s not forget the physical act of creating such an object. Homemade paper, ink painstakingly created perhaps…these choices are a record of resourcefulness, an intersection of utility and personal expression under certain conditions, one guesses related to war? Curator: Precisely. The entries likely document Hennequin’s time as a Lieutenant and Captain Engineer during the defense of the Fortress Sluis. His notes and sketches are intrinsically bound to the materiality available to him. He wasn’t thinking of “Art”, it was pure survival, yet meaning overflows. Editor: Yes, in turning away from what “Art” should be, the function of the journal pages take center stage. This challenges our received ideas about artist and creator. These books became incredibly important primary source documentation over the course of a conflict and therefore were valued outside of art, labor, and collecting. Curator: Note too, how this changes our reading of History Painting! While at first glance a seemingly plain collection of notebook pages, the “style” here is purely accidental, simply documenting and collecting what could be understood, planned for, in hopes to avoid any missteps. Editor: So we start with the personal, even the accidental; Hennequin creates what he thinks is not valuable as “art” in order to do engineering, however it takes a new, even artistic resonance for a viewer looking in from a distant future. Food for thought. Curator: It has offered a refreshing encounter with how both material constraints and visual language intersect to shape and encode the meanings. Editor: Agreed. A tangible artifact connecting labor, utility and unintentional artistry.