Ornamentaal ontwerp met namen van personen 1874 - 1945

This ornamental design with names was made by Carel Adolph Lion Cachet, likely with graphite and watercolor on paper. Look at the way the artist has handled the graphite here. It's not about hiding the process. You can see the grid underneath, the notations, all the bones of the thing. Cachet is working with a limited palette – mostly blacks and grays – yet the interplay between the flat lettering and the decorative flourishes of the border creates depth and movement. It's interesting how the artist has played with positive and negative space. The silhouette that seems to emerge from the names gives the piece a kind of playful ambiguity. It reminds me a bit of some of the poster designs of someone like William H. Bradley, the way he used flat planes to create depth and dimensionality. It is this back and forth, this open conversation, that keeps art alive for me.