Ontwerp voor een kast c. 1900

Curator: At first glance, this seems like a study in lines—intersecting planes suggesting a boxy structure. Like a geometric daydream! Editor: And I thought it looked like a child's tentative sketch, but intriguing—something almost ghostlike in its unfinished quality. The drawing, done around 1900, is a design for a cabinet, titled "Ontwerp voor een kast." It's attributed to Carel Adolph Lion Cachet. You'll find this work held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. Curator: Cachet was exploring Art Nouveau principles here. Think about what a cabinet meant then – a showpiece, a repository of family treasures, and a testament to exquisite craftsmanship. Editor: The Art Nouveau, or new art movement! Look at those subtle curves peeking through the rigid frame! Like it’s aching to escape geometry for something more…organic. It evokes a dream you once had, then lost… Or furniture yet to come! Curator: The symbolism in the intended cabinet design is noteworthy; a vertical structure emphasizing growth and perhaps familial legacy contained within. Editor: Did they ever make this piece? In some ways, this ethereal form feels so much stronger BECAUSE it wasn’t finished… Do you think there’s any correlation? Curator: It's fascinating to ponder what this design lacks versus what the maker intended. The incomplete sketch encourages our imaginations to take the stage, right? Editor: Right. It leaves room for all sorts of potential outcomes and, maybe a space for ourselves too? Now if you don't mind, I must get a drink, imagining my ideal Art Nouveau cabinet… Cheers. Curator: And on my end, time to investigate the implications of lines, and the psychology of contained structures. Cheerio.