Schetsboek met 34 bladen 1888 - 1889

Alexander Shilling produced this sketchbook with 34 pages, sometime around 1888. The cover, inscribed with dates "Sept. 6th to Sept. 20," offers us more than just an inventory of days. It evokes a sense of time marked and measured. The act of noting dates carries a symbolic weight that resonates deeply within us. It’s a practice akin to the ancient Roman concept of "memento mori"—a reminder of life's fleeting nature. It speaks to our collective human need to impose order on the ceaseless flow of time. Consider the broader history of calendars, from ancient lunar cycles to modern digital displays. Each represents an attempt to grasp and contain the intangible, to chart our existence within a grand cosmic narrative. The dates inscribed here become symbolic anchors, not just marking days passed, but beckoning viewers to consider their own place within the ever-turning wheel of time. It touches something primal within us, a confrontation with mortality.