Schetsblad met eendenstudies 1800 - 1900

Ishikawa Kazan made this sketch sheet with duck studies using pen and ink. The composition presents four distinct studies, each capturing the ducks in varying poses and levels of detail. The sparse use of line emphasizes the form and texture, inviting a close, almost anatomical, examination. The annotations, or labels, scattered across the sheet are particularly striking. These calligraphic marks might be seen as signs pointing not just to physical attributes, but also to cultural or symbolic meanings associated with these creatures in Japanese art and thought. The sketch sheet engages with broader artistic and philosophical concerns. Kazan destabilizes the traditional boundaries between observation and abstraction. The ducks are presented not just as visual records, but as subjects of an intellectual and perhaps spiritual investigation. In a world that often seeks to fix meaning, Kazan invites us to remain in the space of questioning and exploration, emphasizing that seeing is not just about looking, but about understanding.