Abklatsch van de tekening op pagina 35 1893 - 1897

This is a transfer of a drawing by Willem Witsen, an artist who lived through immense social and cultural shifts in the Netherlands. He was born in 1860 when the Dutch colonial empire was at its peak and died in 1923 when the aftershocks of the first world war were still being felt throughout Europe. There's a certain poignancy in looking at this work. As the title suggests, this image isn't the original but a copy, a trace. Like a memory it bears a ghostly presence. The act of creating a copy speaks to the value we place on certain images, our desire to reproduce and disseminate them, ensuring their survival across time and space. What was on page 35? A landscape, a portrait, or an abstraction? We can only guess what was important enough to Witsen to make this copy, adding another layer of mystery and intrigue. In its quiet, almost faded presence, this work reminds us that everything is subject to change. What traces will we leave behind? And how will they be remembered?