Abklatsch van de krijttekening op pagina 9 verso 1890 - 1931

Willem Bastiaan Tholen made this transfer of a chalk drawing, titled "Abklatsch van de krijttekening op pagina 9 verso," on paper, and what strikes me is the subtlety of it. I wonder about the initial chalk drawing on page 9, which we don’t see. What was it? What did it depict? Was Tholen satisfied with it? Did he want to keep it for himself, a ghostly trace? The light blues and greens, subtly emerging from the surface, remind me of atmospheric landscapes. The thinness of the application feels intentional, creating an image that is more felt than seen. It makes me think about the quiet moments in an artist’s studio, the experiments and accidents that lead to new discoveries. A bit like the kind of thing that might have interested Giorgio Morandi. It’s an intimate gesture, a whisper on paper, inviting us to lean in and listen closely.