Schetsboek met 32 bladen Possibly 1914 - 1917

Editor: We are looking at "Sketchbook with 32 pages," possibly created between 1914 and 1917 by Willem Witsen. It's a mixed-media drawing on paper with pencil. There's a quiet intimacy to seeing an artist's sketchbook. What thoughts come to mind when you see something like this? Curator: Oh, sketchbooks, I love them! It's like peeking into someone's mind. It feels so private, right? I imagine Witsen carrying this around, capturing glimpses of the world around him. Impermanent moments, like trying to hold water in your hands. What do you think he might have been trying to capture in these pages, especially given the time period it was made? Editor: I hadn't really considered that. Around the First World War… Do you think the sketchbook was a place for more personal or experimental pieces during a difficult time? Curator: Precisely! Art often serves as a refuge or a reaction. Imagine the world outside his window during those years. Perhaps these sketches were a way for him to process or escape. Or maybe, challenge the ideas of what painting should be in that time. It looks like Witsen captured the calm amongst all the surrounding tension and uncertainty. Don’t you think? Editor: That's a compelling perspective. Seeing it now, I get a real sense of transience and peace combined. I originally viewed it as simplistic, but it's amazing to see what is unveiled when given the proper context. Curator: Exactly! A sketchbook, a secret garden of visual thoughts. It shows art's potential as not only a way of documenting but processing our experiences of the world. I wonder, if this sketchbook could talk, what secrets would it whisper? Editor: Now, there’s a question that will have me thinking. Thank you for that insight!