Schetsboek LVII met 29 bladen 1875 - 1934

This is sketchbook LVII with 29 pages by Isaac Israels, which now lives in the Rijksmuseum. It's interesting to consider the sketchbook itself as a kind of artwork, isn't it? I can imagine Israels carrying this around, its compact size just right for slipping into a pocket or bag. The cover is a plain, unassuming cardboard—kind of like a blank canvas waiting to be filled. Think about all the possibilities held within those pages. What fleeting moments did he capture? What thoughts or ideas did he jot down? Perhaps it was filled with quick sketches of people, landscapes, or scenes from daily life. It makes me wonder about the relationship between seeing and recording, between observation and creation. Maybe some pages are full of false starts, messy erasures, or spontaneous doodles, while others might contain more refined, carefully rendered drawings. I like to think of sketchbooks as intimate glimpses into an artist's mind, a place where ideas are born and take shape.