Ornamenten met bladeren c. 1901

This unassuming sketch, "Ornamenten met bladeren", by Gerrit Willem Dijsselhof, is on lined paper, probably from a notebook. It's like catching Dijsselhof in a moment of contemplation with a pencil, figuring something out. The two curving shapes that face each other – are they leaves, or some kind of architectural detail? I wonder if he was thinking about decoration? I love how the bottom half is obscured by what looks like pencil shading. Almost like a failed attempt to copy the leaves, abandoned there on the page. It makes me think about the art of practicing, you know, how one drawing informs the next, and sometimes you just have to give up and try something new. It is a reminder that every grand gesture starts with a simple line on paper. Artists, like Dijsselhof, are in ongoing conversation, each inspiring the next, echoing across time.