Kerktoren en interieurontwerpen c. 1905

Curator: Carel Adolph Lion Cachet created this pen and pencil drawing, “Kerktoren en interieurontwerpen,” around 1905. Currently, it resides within the Rijksmuseum's collection. Editor: My initial impression is that these are exploratory sketches—ideas captured in the moment. The thin lines feel tentative, giving it an intimate, almost secretive quality, like peeking into the artist’s notebook. Curator: Indeed. Cachet was known for his role in the Dutch Art Nouveau movement, and his work extended into areas like graphic design and textile art. This sketch offers insights into his process and architectural interests, perhaps for a larger, unrealized commission. It shows the merging of external landscapes and internal designs. How do you interpret this interplay, conceptually? Editor: I see a reflection of early 20th-century tensions between tradition and modernity. The church tower symbolizes established power and social structures, while the interior sketches hint at evolving aesthetic values—a push for innovative and inclusive spaces. I'm thinking about how buildings embody ideology. Curator: That’s astute. Considering the social role of churches then and Cachet’s aesthetic leanings, this duality is indeed telling. He worked at a time when debates around the function of public spaces and their ability to uplift or exclude were intensifying, right? The art world grappled with how design could reflect societal reforms. Editor: Precisely. There’s a fascinating tension in using such a traditional subject, a church, as a jumping-off point for exploring innovative design. Was he subverting the status quo, or attempting to reconcile tradition with progress? The sketches feel open-ended, resisting a definitive answer, in that way becoming more powerful for the observer. Curator: These sketches grant a privileged, vulnerable glimpse into the development of an artist's design process. Editor: This exercise has reminded me that we all should challenge the status quo and not be afraid of tension!