Wurzblatt (Wallpaper Design) c. 1915

Dagobert Peche made this design for wallpaper with gouache, paint and ink on paper, and I can just imagine him enjoying the process of endless repetition. Imagine the artist, maybe a bit of a perfectionist, carefully crafting each little leaf and flower, only for it to blend into a sea of sameness. There's a certain irony there, right? The individual effort swallowed up by the overall pattern. These bold silhouettes of stylized leaves and tulips float across a golden background, giving me a feeling of autumn. Peche seems to be asking, how much can you control, and when do you just let go? This work makes me think about artists like William Morris who blurred the lines between fine art and design. Ultimately, Wurzblatt (Wallpaper Design) reminds us that creativity can pop up in the most unexpected places, and that even in repetition, there's room for expression.