Schetsboek met 14 bladen c. 1930

Curator: Here we have "Sketchbook with 14 Sheets" dating back to around 1930 by Carel Adolph Lion Cachet. It's composed of drawing on paper, and resides here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: It’s funny, isn’t it? Such potential, held within this plain, brown cover. It has an aura of anticipation, a hushed promise. It is almost more interesting *before* we see what's inside. Curator: Precisely! A sketchbook is an invitation to something unformed. For me, it's the quiet humility of the everyday made sacred. I am drawn to the humble quality of sketchbooks in general; the intimate dance between the artist and the page, ideas germinating in secrecy. It also reminds me of waiting for inspiration. Does it trigger any further reflections for you? Editor: Definitely! To the trained eye, even the texture and slight imperfections of the paper can tell you a lot. Paper, throughout history, has always stood as a blank slate onto which civilizations project their ideas, record memories, even legislate new worlds into being. It's an agent of cultural expression! But in a sketchbook, the symbolism multiplies; it is the *private* theater of the artist. Curator: It becomes a mirror, doesn't it? This tangible record of someone's interiority, available for us to ponder, gives one pause to consider what ideas may spring to mind when seeing blank pages today! Editor: Absolutely! And note how Cachet, by leaving it relatively unadorned, prompts *us* to reflect on the wellsprings of creativity. We are almost drawn to complete it ourselves! It has also the effect of a portal: Who hasn't wanted to rifle through an artist's most private ideas? There's almost a voyeuristic thrill implicit in holding a sketchbook! Curator: This piece truly transforms something quite simple into an enigma of its own kind. Hopefully, after this chat, listeners may go to sketchbooks in a new light. Editor: Hopefully indeed. Thank you, Carel Adolph Lion Cachet, for this pregnant invitation. Now, if you'll excuse me, I feel a sudden, and pressing need to buy some sketchbooks!