Notities 1890 - 1946

Curator: Welcome. We’re looking at Cornelis Vreedenburgh’s "Notities," created sometime between 1890 and 1946. It's a mixed-media drawing with pencil on paper, currently held in the Rijksmuseum collection. Editor: It appears to be a page torn from a sketchbook, filled with what looks like handwritten notes and calculations, perhaps architectural in nature? What immediately strikes me is its fragmentary, almost chaotic composition. What catches your eye, viewing it from a formalist perspective? Curator: Indeed. What intrigues me most is the interplay between the disparate textual elements. Observe how the various scripts—some cursive, others more technical—create a dynamic surface. Notice also the contrasting weights of the lines, shifting from delicate, almost ephemeral marks to darker, more assertive strokes. Consider how the placement of each inscription relates to the other – do they create a harmonious composition? Editor: I see what you mean. The variation definitely creates visual interest, preventing it from feeling like just a collection of notes. It's like the artist is creating a landscape of text. Is the medium of the paper significant? Curator: The paper acts as both a ground and an active element. Its texture interacts with the pencil marks, influencing their appearance. One can read this paper surface as a 'field' on which the artist inscribes signs, disrupting any pre-conceived unity and revealing the inherent structure and potential of both word and medium. Consider its function as a structural element. How does the artist manipulate these formal components to establish relationships and create an autonomous aesthetic experience? Editor: So, beyond any practical function, it becomes about the visual rhythm and textures created by the words themselves. Thank you, that’s really given me a new perspective. Curator: It’s through careful observation and deconstruction of elements like line, texture, and form that we can begin to understand the aesthetic potential within seemingly ordinary documents like this sketchbook page.