Abklatsch van een krijttekening c. 1897 - 1910

This image is a transfer drawing in chalk by Willem Witsen. Looking at it, I can almost feel the powdery give of the chalk as it moved across the page. The artist probably made an initial drawing then pressed another sheet against it, creating a ghostly echo. Imagine Witsen in the studio, carefully burnishing the paper, coaxing the image to reappear, softened and slightly blurred! It's a beautiful reminder that art-making often involves repetition, and the process of transfer can be just as important as the original. It makes me think of Rauschenberg’s erased de Kooning, which is another method of 'ghosting' an image. Each mark communicates a feeling, an intention, a meaning. The painting becomes a conversation between artist and material, between intention and accident. Art is an ongoing dialogue!