Notities 1862 - 1864

Curator: We're looking at "Notities" by Johannes Tavenraat, created between 1862 and 1864. It’s an ink drawing on paper and resides here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: You know, it gives me such a fleeting, melancholic vibe. The cramped handwriting makes it feel really intimate, like stumbling upon a secret thought, half remembered. Almost ethereal. Curator: It's intriguing to think about the physical act of creating this. Consider the labor involved in making the ink, the sourcing of the paper, and the time it would have taken to fill the page with these densely packed notations. What context gives rise to such deliberate inscription? Editor: Maybe he was just letting his thoughts spill out. Stream of consciousness kind of stuff. The slant of the script, how it rushes and loops…it almost looks like he was chasing something just out of reach. There is romantic undertone present for sure, you can notice from his words. Curator: And we can't ignore the presence of calligraphy, can we? How was this sort of artisanal skill transferred? It’s a material artifact of social inscription and cultivated craft – think about the workshops, the apprenticeship, the economic structure sustaining all of this practice... Editor: Right, like the paper, ink and pen – all carefully and preciously handcrafted for such deliberate, slow art. To imagine Tavenraat absorbed in his work and craft fills my senses and awakens them fully! There's definitely some magic inherent in this kind of quiet process. The dedication is palpable! Curator: Precisely. Every stroke, every loop speaks to a different moment, to the specific properties of his materials. By exploring that, we explore its origins more generally as a work bound to the world in ways beyond its own mere artistry or emotional resonance. Editor: It's more than meets the eye. Looking at his Notities almost creates a time capsule. In some way this resonates even after centuries have passed... there is nothing more material and revealing of the material conditions and state of mind than just looking. So simple, right?