Schetsboek met 31 bladen 1909

Johan Antonie de Jonge's sketchbook, with its thirty-one leaves, is a portable haven for ideas. Just imagine him, back in the late 19th and early 20th century, tying up this little book with its linen ribbon, ready to capture a fleeting thought. The cover itself, that subtle linen texture, speaks of utility and a direct relationship to materials. It’s not precious, which makes me think De Jonge was serious about getting down to work. What was he thinking as he held it? The cover is like a blank canvas: anything is possible. You know, a sketchbook is a painter's best pal: it’s where you let go, where the fear of the blank canvas fades, and you just, like, think with your hand. It’s the same for viewers, too, because when looking at a sketchbook, you are looking at the start of ideas. Sketchbooks are such intimate objects, aren’t they? They are about process, change, and possibility. Other artists, too, have used sketchbooks to inspire them and generate ideas for future works. De Jonge’s sketchbook remains as an invitation to create, experiment, and evolve.