Schetsboek met 18 bladen c. 1910 - 1915

This sketchbook with 18 pages was made by Willem Witsen, but we don't know exactly when. The cover of this sketchbook is pretty cool, it has this almost marbled effect, dark brown blobs that are connected with bright yellow rivers. It reminds me of looking at a map, or maybe even at a microscopic view of cells, imagine the possibilities held inside those 18 pages! When you think about a sketchbook you imagine it as a place for experiments. Some artists use sketchbooks in a very planned way. Other artists are using it to scribble, to diarize, to record ideas, maybe they are working out thoughts. The real value in a sketchbook is in the trace of that process. It's a place to make all the ‘mistakes’ that eventually lead you somewhere new. It’s like keeping a visual diary. Think of the sketches by Delacroix! And the way his sketchbooks ended up informing the way he made paintings. Ultimately, art is an ongoing conversation, and sketchbooks invite us to eavesdrop on the artist's side of that dialogue.