Schetsboek met 4 bladen 1875 - 1923

Willem Witsen, born in 1860, made this sketchbook with four pages. Witsen inhabited a world in transition; born into an elite family during the height of the Dutch colonial era, he would live to see the old order swept away by the tides of modernity and social change following the first World War. His art captured this shifting terrain, often focusing on the intimate, personal experiences of the individual within rapidly changing urban landscapes. Witsen moved in artistic and literary circles, and his work, much like his identity, became a place where tradition and modernity met. This sketchbook gives us a glimpse into his artistic process and the visual language through which he interpreted the world. It gives us a personal connection to Witsen, whose emotional responses to the world offer us a chance to reflect on our own place in a complex world.