Skizzenbuch 

Karl Peter Burnitz’s sketchbooks were made in Germany during the 19th century. But what can this unassuming object tell us about its time? Sketchbooks are fascinating documents for social historians. They reveal the artist’s working methods, their day-to-day life, and the contemporary institutional forces that shaped their artistic practice. In Burnitz's case, his sketchbooks reveal his artistic training at the Städel Museum in Frankfurt. They provide insight into the role of museums in shaping artistic taste. While Burnitz would have absorbed the artistic styles and techniques favored by the Städel, his sketchbooks hint at something more. These private documents may reveal a space for exploration, experimentation and resistance to established norms. It allows us to consider the dynamic interplay between institutional influence and individual agency in shaping artistic expression. By exploring these kinds of primary source materials, we gain a richer understanding of the artist, and the world in which they lived. The history of art is about social and institutional contexts that shape artistic production.