Schetsboek met 40 bladen c. 1886 - 1891

Curator: Here we have a sketchbook containing 40 pages by Willem Witsen, likely dating from 1886 to 1891. It's comprised of drawing and mixed media on paper, currently held at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: The worn surface! It speaks of handling, use, and secrets held within. The faded umber frame draws my eye inwards. It is quite lovely, in a melancholic way. Curator: Precisely! Consider the material conditions: the paper, the binding. This wasn't just a precious object, but a working tool. It accompanied Witsen as he moved through his world, ready to capture impressions on the spot. I bet the social context for an object like this involved specific suppliers of materials. Editor: You're right. It is an object for the eye, for seeing. Imagine Witsen’s eye guiding the pencil, searching for forms, meanings… It echoes the visual traditions of artists finding and documenting what might be found in an altered state of being or in dreams. Curator: I find the scale compelling. A sketchbook implies intimacy, a direct link between the artist's hand and the evolving image. This is particularly true here. Editor: Agreed, but consider how Witsen imbued a sense of place into the symbols. His technique here provides us with insights that continue to resonate today through similar approaches, as many seek to visually tap into universal truths by embracing intuitive means and abstracting away extraneous information to arrive at primal form. Curator: Absolutely, but by exploring these materials we can challenge our preconceived notions about art as static and precious and see artistic practice as one tied to social activity and a continuous chain of production. It’s an early predecessor to some modern multimedia methods we now engage with today. Editor: And that opens my eye, revealing ways we connect to meaning by seeing familiar visual codes applied in personal ways within the drawings themselves, unlocking cultural and perhaps even personal secrets about Willem. Thank you! Curator: Yes, thank you. Considering its function certainly shifted my own perspective, too.