Abklatsch van de krijttekening op pagina 28 c. 1897 - 1910

This is Willem Witsen’s ‘Abklatsch van de krijttekening op pagina 28’ a chalk drawing now in the Rijksmuseum. The word ‘Abklatsch’ is German for transfer, or rubbing, and you can see that ghostly quality in the image itself. There’s something so interesting about the way Witsen has captured the incidental, the trace. It’s like the shadow of a thought. Look at the subtle variations in tone, the way the chalk dust clings to the paper. The texture is almost palpable, like you could reach out and smudge it with your finger. It reminds me of the way Rauschenberg used solvent transfer in his combines, but here it's distilled down to its essence. A pure, unadulterated act of transferring one thing to another. Ultimately, it reminds us that artmaking is often about embracing the unexpected and finding beauty in the ephemeral.