Schetsboek met 78 bladen 1731 - 1732

Curator: Just the sight of it transports me. The Rijksmuseum holds this treasure—a sketchbook filled with 78 pages, crafted between 1731 and 1732 by Abraham de Haen the Younger. Editor: It looks unassuming at first glance, doesn't it? Like an old manuscript cover discovered in an attic. All subtle textures, hints of watercolour bleeding, aged paper with that soft chalky feel. The personal nature of this object gives it an intimate quality. Curator: Exactly! Think about what this object represents: A concentrated, creative space. What world did Abraham de Haen II seek to explore? Watercolors on paper invite an immediacy – ideas flowing from mind to the page. Editor: And what’s really interesting is how museums shape the afterlife of these objects. Sketchbooks were not originally intended to be presented as public art; rather they are a manifestation of a private thinking space. Showing a sketchbook like this places the process of art-making front and centre. Curator: Precisely. In cultural memory, sketchbooks act as conduits between different times. These glimpses into the mind of de Haen become part of our shared narrative about creativity itself. And because art, like memory, transforms over time. Every view offers fresh interpretation. Editor: Do you think its accessibility today enhances or detracts its power? Seeing it on display like this might lessen it, as we are distanced from his intended creation and his cultural context of the artist as creator. It reminds you that every historical interpretation shifts based on those in positions of influence, those in charge of exhibiting and analyzing its imagery. Curator: Good point. But it's through this public life that we continue to weave new interpretations onto existing threads—re-interpreting them and enriching what they can suggest, through conversations just like this one. Editor: Yes, exactly— it reminds us of how history evolves.