SKETCHBOOK[HI]STORY. SKETCHBOOKS FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE STAATLICHE GRAPHISCHE SAMMLUNG MÜNCHEN

For centuries, drawing and writing in sketchbooks has been an essential component of artistic practice. The graphic traces in the books are characterised by both their extreme immediacy and their heterogeneity, allowing perceptions, thoughts and memories to be preserved, structured, and reflected upon. At the same time, sketchbooks provide a safe space for developing new visual ideas beyond all aesthetic expectations and conventions. With this exhibition, the theme of the sketchbook will for the first time take centre stage in a comprehensive museum display. The Staatliche Graphische Sammlung München has in its care more than 260 sketchbooks – kept by painters, illustrators, sculptors, architects, as well as travel sketchbooks – ranging from the 18th century right up to the present day. Utilising this rich collection, the exhibition will trace the evolutionary history of the medium, and – progressing through the centuries right up to the present – initiate dialogues between sketchbooks, artists and viewers.