Skitsebog. Berlin, Dresden, Wien, Liechtenstein og Hirschberg. 1911 1911

Curator: Let’s consider J.A. Jerichau’s "Skitsebog. Berlin, Dresden, Wien, Liechtenstein og Hirschberg. 1911," created in 1911. This sketchbook is currently housed at the SMK, Statens Museum for Kunst. Editor: It has an unassuming presence, almost a secretive quality. I’m immediately drawn to the texture of the cover. Is it some kind of pressed textile, or perhaps deeply grained paper? It looks like it has witnessed significant use. Curator: I agree. This isn't just about looking at art, it is also about its creation and social reflection. Considering that Jerichau titled it with a travel log listing different cities, it allows us to reimagine art from the male gaze, or perhaps look into the socio-economic structures that are made visible during traveling across borders. Editor: You can really sense the wear and tear, the life of the object as a constant companion in the act of creation and journeying. It begs questions about its making. The binding along the spine looks especially durable. I imagine it went through significant handling. Curator: The sketchbook itself can become a symbol of power. Note the specific cities listed –Berlin, Dresden, Vienna, Liechtenstein, and Hirschberg. The artist’s selection could signify the artistic centers within Europe, where cultural exchange and debates intersect to shape artistic direction during the dawn of the modern era. It allows us to read the book through social strata during that time. Editor: Looking at that oval space on the cover, the empty label...I’m now focusing on absence. A title perhaps that was lost. Or never placed? So much rests in the presence, the making of its pages. What labor was required? Curator: In conclusion, by re-situating this artwork within a cultural matrix, one can start unraveling not only the symbolic importance of traveling in artistic endeavors, but also challenge the discourse around the modern self. Editor: It is this very intersection between journeying and making that I find truly fascinating—how Jerichau, in assembling this physical object, provided us not only with its drawings but also a story of art making.