Notities, deels doorgehaald 1834 - 1906

Curator: This is a fascinating drawing on paper with ink titled "Notities, deels doorgehaald" from Maria Vos, created sometime between 1834 and 1906. Editor: The dense script gives an impression of privacy and introspection, like catching a glimpse into someone's thoughts. It feels very personal and immediate. Curator: Absolutely. You know, Vos’s control of line and composition is evident even in what we might consider a preliminary work. Note the subtle gradations in tone, the careful arrangement of text... Editor: But consider the context. Vos, as a woman artist of her time, faced societal barriers. Were these "notes" more than just writing exercises? Could they represent suppressed voices, ideas, or artistic expressions not sanctioned by the dominant patriarchal structures? Curator: That's an interesting interpretation, though without more biographical information, I think the primary engagement remains formal. Look, for instance, at the way she obscures sections of the script with deliberate scribbles – an act of visual disruption that nonetheless maintains an elegant graphic quality. Editor: Precisely. The obliteration serves as a powerful metaphor. These notes, and perhaps by extension, Vos’s artistic ambitions, might have been deliberately obscured, redacted, or even erased by external forces or internalized self-doubt given her circumstances. What was permissible and legible then is marked unreadable, crossed out by a seemingly unrecoverable personal choice that bears deeper traces within society's framework. Curator: You posit a compelling narrative. I still appreciate the artist’s intentionality in this "private" display, which seems like more than just a functional sketchbook. Editor: And within that display, perhaps we catch reflections of society. It asks the question, what might remain invisible now?