Schetsboek met 51 bladen c. 1892s

Curator: This is a sketchbook comprising 51 leaves, created around the 1890s by Antoon Derkinderen. It incorporates drawing, mixed media, textile and paper. Editor: Immediately I notice the textural interplay of the linen cover and the smoother paper of what I presume are the internal pages. It has a somewhat worn, intimate feel. Curator: A sketchbook holds unique symbolic weight, doesn't it? A space for spontaneous expression, initial ideas, a repository of developing thoughts. For an artist, it represents not just practice, but the genesis of future works. Editor: Absolutely. And in purely formal terms, that textile cover, while functional, presents a soft, neutral ground. It draws your eye toward the assumed potential of the internal blank space, the artist's potential for creation. I like how the textile shows aging, use. It grounds the art. Curator: Linen carries its own history, its associations with domesticity, with everyday life. By choosing to bind his artistic thoughts in it, Derkinderen seemingly acknowledges art's relationship with the ordinary, suggesting that inspiration arises from the commonplace. Also, look at the simple strap and its well-used appearance; clearly, he kept it close at hand. Editor: And how does that physical act influence the artwork, or the idea of the artwork? A book this size fits naturally in one's arms or bag, for immediate engagement with the artist's ideas wherever the location. And the materiality contrasts with its possible symbolic value as a ‘window’ to imagination. Curator: I find it compelling to consider how Derkinderen viewed this object. Did he consider it precious? Or purely functional? Either way, the fact that it has survived provides insights into not only his artistic practice, but also the role of art within his life. Editor: Well said. This object, simple as it seems, provides ample material for understanding an artist’s relationship with his practice, with both the internal, artistic impulse, and its physical expression.