Ontwerp voor geschoren trijp-vak, vullingen en stoelbekleding van Ss. Johan de Wit-zeemeerminnen 1874 - 1945

Carel Adolph Lion Cachet made this design for fabric or upholstery, likely on paper, though the exact medium is unclear. The mermaids and mermen look like they're holding up little architectural details like lintels - or maybe the whole building, if you think about the role of women in mythology! What's interesting is how flat everything is. The lines are so precise, so uniform, that it feels like it could almost be printed, but the hand-drawn quality gives it a kind of warmth. It's like looking at a blueprint of a dream, where sea creatures become structural elements. Look at how each of the figures are framed by a maze-like swirl of lines, connecting them to the others. The whole drawing is really a weaving of patterns. There’s something of Aubrey Beardsley in the linework and the way the figures are stylised. But Cachet brings his own sensibility to the work with the integration of those geometric forms, creating a distinctive visual language all his own. It reminds me that art’s like an ongoing conversation – each artist contributing their unique voice.