Skizzenbuch Possibly 1876

This is Friedrich Metz's "Skizzenbuch," held at the Städel Museum; it is a notebook. At first glance, the mottled cover with its blank label appears simple, yet it beckons us into a deeper contemplation. Consider the blank label, reminiscent of the tabula rasa, a surface ready to be inscribed. It echoes ancient wax tablets, upon which knowledge and art were first recorded. It reappears across time—in medieval illuminated manuscripts and Renaissance sketchbooks. The empty label, a silent invitation, is a psychological space where future and potential converge, just as dreams form in the liminal space between consciousness and the subconscious. In this way, we are prompted to reflect on the cyclical nature of creation. The simple book becomes an invitation to examine the emotional weight and cultural power embedded in visual symbols.