Instrumenten, waaronder een passer 1900 - 1903

Antoon Derkinderen made this sketch of instruments, including a compass, at an unknown date in the Netherlands. The drawing is of a collection of tools, and is accompanied by handwritten notes in Dutch. Derkinderen was deeply invested in the social role of art. As an artist working in the late 19th and early 20th century, he lived in a time of great social and economic upheaval, as well as a time of political reform. The institutions of art were not exempt from this, and artists increasingly saw art as a means to respond to those pressing issues. The tools depicted in this drawing reference craft and labor. The emphasis on technical instruments speaks to a celebration of precision, skill, and the value of labor. We might then consider this drawing as more than just a simple sketch, but as an argument for the social and political value of labor. To fully understand the role of this drawing, one would need to situate Derkinderen’s work within the social history of the Netherlands.