Schetsboek met 14 bladen c. 1889 - 1904

Editor: This is "Sketchbook with 14 pages," made by George Hendrik Breitner, dating from around 1889 to 1904. It's mixed media on paper. It looks almost like marbled endpapers from an old book. What stands out to you about this sketchbook? Curator: I'm fascinated by the sketchbook itself as a material object, especially when we consider its relation to Breitner's broader artistic production. How was this paper manufactured? Who bound the book, and under what conditions? Were these readily available sketchbooks, or something more bespoke reflecting Breitner’s status? Editor: That's a side I hadn't considered! So it's less about what's inside, and more about how the book came to be? Curator: Exactly. Think about the social life of materials. Breitner was capturing fleeting moments of urban life; were the materials themselves also shaped by industrial modernity? The texture you see could reflect the very processes of its creation. This shifts our understanding away from purely aesthetic concerns to acknowledge the socio-economic factors in artistic creation. Editor: It sounds like you're almost more interested in the production chain than the intended "art" itself? Curator: I am interested in thinking about how the 'art' and production were interlinked. I want us to appreciate the labor involved in creating even the most preliminary sketches, understanding art making as an industry as much as an individual act of genius. We should also consider the accessibility of art, of paper: how did the availability of these materials impact artistic creation in this period? Editor: So, looking at it now, I appreciate it more as a manufactured object with an embedded history, and less as simply a blank slate for art. Curator: Precisely! And hopefully this viewpoint makes you think more about our relationship to the world and things around us.