Notitie 1906 - 1945

Editor: Here we have "Notitie," a pencil and graphite drawing on paper, created sometime between 1906 and 1945. The handwriting gives it a very intimate, personal feeling, like we're looking at someone's private thoughts. What visual elements strike you most about this work? Curator: The linear quality is paramount. Note how the artist uses line, specifically through handwriting, not merely to convey semantic content, but as a compositional element. The fading quality of the graphite also speaks to the passage of time. How does the distribution of the script across the plane of the paper affect your perception? Editor: It’s sparse, almost floating. The script isn’t dense, allowing for large areas of untouched paper. Does this emptiness hold significance? Curator: Consider the negative space, the ‘emptiness’ as you call it. In formalist terms, we must recognize that the empty space is not truly empty. Rather, it functions as a deliberate void that punctuates the lines, directing the viewer's eye and contributing to the overall balance, creating a tension between presence and absence. What would happen if the page was densely covered in text? Editor: It’d feel chaotic, perhaps anxious. The blankness emphasizes the deliberate, almost precious nature of the written words. I appreciate that. Thanks for highlighting that, I'm viewing this drawing in a new way. Curator: Indeed, through careful attention to formal elements, we can appreciate how the artist manipulates space and line to construct a work that communicates on multiple levels. Every element contributes to a harmonious visual experience.