Abklatsch van de krijttekening op pagina 8 c. 1892 - 1897

This is a blank page made by Willem Witsen, currently held at the Rijksmuseum. At first glance, we see a void, a nothingness. Yet, isn't the void itself a profound symbol, pregnant with potential? Across cultures, the blank page represents the ultimate symbol, the "tabula rasa." It’s the void from which all creation springs—the unwritten future, the unformed thought. In ancient Egyptian cosmology, Nun, the primordial waters of chaos, was this formless void. Just as the artist confronts the empty canvas, so too does humanity face the abyss of possibilities. Consider this nothingness not as absence but as latent energy. It echoes in the Zen Buddhist concept of "Mu," a state of no-thing-ness. In the Renaissance, artists like Leonardo da Vinci approached the void through the sfumato technique, blurring lines, suggesting that clarity emerges from the undefined. This reflects the notion that profound understanding stems from embracing uncertainty. In this simple page, we confront the cyclical nature of creation and destruction. The void is not an end but a beginning, an invitation to project our deepest fears and wildest dreams onto the world.