Ontwerp voor een tapijt met een fantasiefiguur 1920 - 1930

Dirk Verstraten made this carpet design with some kind of opaque paint, maybe gouache or tempera. You can really see the hand of the artist, layering shapes and lines, building a symmetrical composition, but it’s all a bit wonky, which is part of its charm! The colours are rich but muted. Notice how the artist mixes colours and uses similar tones, building a visual harmony between the background and foreground. Up close, the design looks to have been drawn with a fine brush, then filled in with flat areas of colour. Look closely at the top, see how some of the lines extend or go beyond the edge of their shape? It's that kind of detail, and the imperfection of the design that brings so much warmth to the work. This piece reminds me of Hilma af Klint. Klint also used symmetrical compositions and otherworldly figures, but her work is more mystical and Verstraten is more grounded, more playful.