Kinderen c. 1890

This is Carel Adolph Lion Cachet’s drawing, “Kinderen,” held at the Rijksmuseum. Immediately, you'll notice the stark simplicity, defined by spare lines on a muted ground, creating an open, airy composition. The figures are presented as outlines, almost like glyphs. Cachet captures the essence of his subjects with minimal detail. The spatial relationships are ambiguous. The children seem to float freely. This challenges traditional notions of depth and perspective. The linear style reflects early modernist concerns with essential forms. It echoes the structuralist idea that underlying patterns shape our understanding. The artist reduces the figures to basic shapes. It invites us to decode the image using our own visual vocabulary. In its elegant simplicity, this drawing becomes an exercise in semiotics. It challenges fixed meanings. It explores the basic elements that constitute visual communication.