Skizzenbuch c. 1840

This is Friedrich Metz's sketchbook, currently residing at the Städel Museum. We don’t have a date for this work, nor the artist's birth and death dates, leaving much to our imagination. Think about this object, it is a private space, a repository for thoughts and observations, a place for experimentation. Given the historical context of sketchbooks, we might ask: who had access to such materials, and what stories might these silent pages contain? Sketchbooks like these have traditionally been spaces where artists could freely explore and develop ideas, often separate from the constraints of public expectation or commercial demand. This is a space to let the imagination run free, to play with form and line, without the pressure of creating a finished product. Consider the untold narratives held within its pages and what this object signifies about artistic creation and personal expression.