Duits renaissancistisch ornament met engelen en cartouche c. 1890 - 1922

This Dutch Renaissance ornament with angels and cartouche was drawn by Johanna van de Kamer. It's got that old-world charm, rendered in delicate ink lines. I can imagine Johanna hunched over her desk, carefully rendering each cherubic face and leafy scroll, her pen dancing across the page. The texture of the drawing gives it a certain weight, as though she is trying to bring forth a sense of volume on a flat plane. See how the lines thicken and thin to suggest depth and shadow? The angels are chubby and playful, their wings unfurled as they frolic amidst the foliage. Look at that little guy holding the flower! It makes me think about how artists have always looked to the past for inspiration, riffing on old ideas and making them new again. Johanna, like so many artists, was in conversation with the masters who came before her, borrowing their language and adding her own little twist. That’s how art evolves.