Abklatsch van de krijttekening op pagina 110 1888 - 1907

Willem Witsen created this offset of a chalk drawing, sometime between 1880 and 1923. Witsen was a Dutch artist, part of a group of artists known as the Amsterdam Impressionists. His work captures the changing urban and rural landscapes of the Netherlands during a period of rapid modernization. As someone coming from a privileged background, he had a complicated relationship with the working class. Witsen was interested in representing a sense of atmosphere and mood, using light and shadow to evoke a particular time of day, or feeling. This offset shows a ghostlike image, barely there. What was Witsen trying to capture by reproducing the image in this way? Is it about the nature of memory, and how scenes fade with time? Does this offset act as a metaphor for the transient nature of modern life? Through this almost ethereal copy, Witsen encourages us to reflect on the ephemeral qualities of modern experience.