Schetsboek met 31 bladen 1906 - 1948

This is a sketchbook with 31 pages made by George Hendrik Breitner, but we don't know exactly when. It's a humble brown cover with black binding, and it makes me think about process, about what it means to make a mark. I really want to touch it. I can see the texture, that kind of fibrous paper quality, and the slight variations in the brown, almost like a stain. I can even read the details of the notebook store at the bottom, with its address and even telephone number. For me, the simplicity of this object invites contemplation. The cover becomes a quiet space for the mind. I imagine how Breitner carried this around, filling it with quick observations, not so different from how we might use a camera today. There's something very immediate and intimate about it, like a thought caught in mid-air. Breitner reminds me of Degas, who was also dedicated to the everyday, finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. Ultimately, art is about that: seeing and sharing those fleeting moments of beauty.