Schetsboek met 9 bladen Possibly 1881 - 1886

This is a sketchbook with nine leaves, created by George Hendrik Breitner, likely in the late 19th century. Bound in marbled paper, it is modest and meant for everyday use. Note the contrast between the mass-produced cover and the artist's individual touch within. Paper, of course, is itself a product of industrialization, made possible by new technologies of pulping and pressing. Yet, here it is employed for the most intimate kind of artistic activity: sketching. Breitner would have filled this book with quick impressions, studies for larger works. The very portability of the sketchbook speaks to the artist's desire to capture fleeting moments of modern life, a direct response to the changing urban environment around him. Ultimately, this object blurs the lines between art and industry, between the unique and the mass-produced. It reminds us that even the most personal artistic expressions are always embedded in a wider social and economic context.