Schetsboek met 44 bladen c. 1825 - 1875

This sketchbook of 44 pages was made by Petrus Johannes Schotel sometime in the mid-19th century. Although it is an unassuming object, it encapsulates many important aspects of the way art and artists functioned in Dutch society during that period. In the Netherlands at this time, marine painting was a celebrated and commercially viable genre. Artists were expected to make studies of various kinds, and this sketchbook would have been an essential tool for Schotel in the development of his craft. The Rijksmuseum, where this sketchbook is housed today, serves as a preserver of Dutch cultural heritage and as a repository for the study of artists such as Schotel. Art historians consult sketchbooks like this in order to understand more about the artistic process. By looking closely at the individual pages we can learn a lot about the working methods of 19th-century Dutch artists. It provides a window into a world of artistic training and production.