Abklatsch van de krijttekening op pagina 94 c. 1884 - 1891

Curator: This ghostly impression is a transfer or ‘Abklatsch’ of a chalk drawing by Willem Witsen, dating from somewhere between 1884 and 1891. It's found within one of his sketchbooks housed here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: It’s wonderfully spectral. I mean, you look at it and feel this immediate sense of ephemeral things, of fleeting moments only barely captured. It has the air of a dream half-remembered. Curator: Precisely! Witsen often explored these liminal spaces—places where impressions linger and fade. Think of it as a fingerprint of a drawing, taken directly from page 94. You get the sense that it represents Witsen’s process…an idea only partially formed. Editor: What do you think he was trying to represent, even in its partial state? Is there anything symbolic suggested, even through its seeming incompleteness? I can’t quite make out the figures in this pale sketch, but their almost wraithlike quality is arresting. Curator: It’s tempting to dive into speculative symbolism. I believe this comes from a specific sketchbook dedicated to cityscapes, where similar impressions are located. Editor: Even then, a misty urban image...those smoky forms recall memory. Think about how we hold our experience of a place long after we’ve left. Curator: It highlights Witsen’s mastery with simple mediums like chalk and paper. What appears simple is often profoundly affecting. He really understood how to get the most impact with suggestion over pure, crisp definition. Editor: It's funny how such a fragmentary image manages to echo far more substantial realities. What we’re left with is not just an imprint of the original drawing, but a rather poetic statement of absence, echoing across time. Curator: Absolutely, there's beauty even in its impermanence, offering a potent metaphor about memory. Editor: That rings so true, it lingers, leaving its own quiet reverberation.