Figuur en een ovaal in een ovaal c. 1930

This undated work by Carel Adolph Lion Cachet, titled 'Figuur en een ovaal in een ovaal', is a pencil drawing on paper, housed at the Rijksmuseum. The sketch presents a series of enigmatic figures and shapes, immediately drawing us into a world of abstracted forms and spatial ambiguity. Our eye is drawn to the centrally located ovoid shape which contains its own abstracted forms. The composition invites us to consider how the interplay between figure and ground creates meaning. The lines, though seemingly simple, construct a complex relationship between interior and exterior space. The drawing invites a semiotic reading. The juxtaposition of geometric shapes with seemingly organic forms challenges fixed meanings. Cachet destabilizes established visual categories, prompting us to question the boundaries between representation and abstraction. The emphasis on line and form underscores the artwork's function as part of a larger cultural and philosophical discourse on perception and representation.