Annotaties c. 1886

This is an undated pencil drawing called Annotations by Willem Witsen, who lived between 1860 and 1923. Witsen was part of the Amsterdam Impressionism movement which captured fleeting moments in urban life. It is difficult to discern exactly what is represented in the drawing, but one could imagine it as preparatory work. This speaks to the artist’s own identity as someone who meticulously prepares, who plans. The sketchiness can be seen as an expression of identity, and as representative of cultural identity during the late 19th and early 20th centuries as the looser style was a break from the more academic art of the earlier part of the 1800s. This movement was deeply entwined with broader societal shifts, which is to say a changing world, including the rise of industrialization and urbanization. "Annotations" also reflect the emotional and personal dimensions of urban life and art production.