Huldeblijk aan Mr. Pieter Julius van Wijngaarden 1922

Carel Adolph Lion Cachet made this print, Huldeblijk aan Mr. Pieter Julius van Wijngaarden, on paper. I can imagine Cachet thinking about Dutch emblems, and then responding with their own design. The olive-colored foliage border feels soft against the dense block of text and smoky cloud of dark grays. Maybe Cachet started with the words and built the design around them, or maybe the other way around. The artist must have felt that the texture of the ink was key to the message. The print has a mottled surface, as if the ink was swirled, mixed, and pressed onto the paper—so that light emerges from dark, and vice versa. I like to think about all of the prints and paintings that might have inspired Cachet to make this work. Artists are always looking, learning, and adding their own spin to the conversation.