Ontwerp voor een apothekersetiket voor levertraanemulsie 1884 - 1952

Here is Reinier Willem Petrus de Vries's sketch for a cod liver oil emulsion label. It looks like the artist began with the barest outline of the label's shape. I imagine the artist, Willem, thinking about the dimensions of the bottle, the curve of the glass, and how the label might best adhere. Then the careful, cursive text is added. It's pale and almost ghostlike. The text is in a light grey, similar to the outline. What was he thinking when he made it? What kind of pen or pencil did he use to write the words? What was he hoping to evoke with this design? This is something that wasn’t ever meant to be seen as art, but here we are, looking closely! It's a good reminder that the art world and the design world are always overlapping and influencing one another. Isn't it nice to think of artists in an ongoing conversation, sharing and inspiring each other’s creativity across time? Seeing the artist's hand in this sketch, the intentional and delicate marks, allows for different interpretations and meanings.