Abklatsch van de krijttekening op pagina 100 1888 - 1907

This is ‘Abklatsch van de krijttekening op pagina 100’, by Willem Witsen, currently held in the Rijksmuseum. Witsen, who lived between 1860 and 1923, was part of a generation of artists who came of age in a rapidly changing world. In his time, art began to reflect the increasing urbanization and industrialization of Europe, as well as growing social awareness. Though this work is abstract and difficult to read, we can still ask, what does it mean to make a mark? What does it mean to copy that mark? What does it mean to save and archive that copy? There is a delicacy in preserving something so minimal. It speaks to an intimacy, perhaps a private, personal history that is not readily available to the public eye. The act of preserving the ephemeral raises questions about what we choose to remember.