Notizen und kleine Skizze (Notation and Small Sketch) [p. 35] 

Editor: Here we have a page from Max Beckmann’s sketchbook, titled “Notizen und kleine Skizze” which translates to “Notation and Small Sketch.” The media looks like pencil on paper. The quick, light marks give it a rather fleeting and informal mood. What strikes you when you look at this page? Curator: Fleeting is spot-on, it feels almost like we're catching a glimpse of the artist's inner thoughts, like eavesdropping on a private conversation. These scribbled notations and fragmented images - almost a stream of consciousness - that seem disjointed at first... It’s not trying to be slick or refined, is it? Editor: Not at all, it seems very immediate. Curator: Exactly. Look at the way he captures these bustling brothel scenes as just hints and fragments! We are not really seeing, but remembering the feeling, a state of in-between dreams and lived reality. How clever. Editor: Brothel scenes? Curator: Yes, there are the notes on the lower left "Hamburg Bordellscene" – literally "Hamburg Brothel Scene." What could those abstract shapes be, the half hinted details… could they perhaps echo German Expressionist concerns of the period? Maybe it’s a raw, unflinching look at urban life, you see? Editor: I see what you mean. The disjointed nature really conveys the chaos, rather than just illustrating the brothel scene itself. I really didn't grasp all of that initially, I love it! Curator: That’s the beauty of sketchbook pages, isn’t it? They're intimate, almost accidental documents, offering glimpses into an artist's mind without the self-consciousness of a finished artwork.