Schetsblad met studies van een grafmonument en een epitaaf 1827 - 1891

Editor: Here we have "Schetsblad met studies van een grafmonument en een epitaaf," a sketchbook page with studies of a tomb monument and epitaph by Johannes Bosboom, made sometime between 1827 and 1891. The Rijksmuseum holds it now. There's something fragile and tentative about the light pencil work; what can you tell me about this piece? Curator: Well, considering Bosboom's focus on church interiors and architectural studies, it’s vital to ask: what power structures are at play within the church itself, and how are these reflected in the very design and memorialization we see here? Who gets remembered, and how? Editor: I hadn't thought about it like that. Curator: Note how the sketches explore different possibilities, perhaps reflecting societal anxieties about death, remembrance, and status. An epitaph, for example, is never just a list of facts; it’s a crafted narrative intended to shape the deceased's legacy. Who had the power to craft these narratives and who was excluded? What social narratives and which political views do they promote? Editor: So, even in a seemingly simple sketch, we're seeing a reflection of power dynamics at work? Curator: Absolutely. And thinking intersectionally, how might gender, race, or class have further shaped these monuments and epitaphs, both in their design and in who they commemorated? Editor: That gives me a lot to think about. It's more than just an architectural sketch; it is a social statement. Curator: Precisely! And by questioning whose stories are told and how, we can better understand the biases embedded within historical representation. Editor: I will never see a 'simple sketch' the same way!