Ontwerp voor een tegeltableau met leeuwen 1874 - 1945

Carel Adolph Lion Cachet made this tile design, with watercolor, in no particular year. Look at how the whole image seems to grow out of the dark central mass. The colors are muted, watery; the yellow ochre pops but stays within the somber feeling. It's interesting to me how you can see the grid beneath the watercolor; it reminds me that even the most decorative arts start with structure. The brushstrokes are loose and free, but they stay within the lines – this is a design, after all, with a purpose. In the corners, those little lion heads are almost cartoonish, but they're also kind of scary. It’s a balance I always look for in art, that tension between beauty and the grotesque. Looking at this, I can’t help but think about folks like William Blake, that sensibility for merging craft and pure art. In the end, it’s all just an ongoing conversation.