Ontwerpen voor Naaistersvereniging 'Allen Eén' c. 1903 - 1904

This series of sketches by Carel Adolph Lion Cachet is an architect's notebook, a real jumble of ideas for 'Allen Eén', a sewing association. It's clear from the way these images overlap, and how faint the pencil lines are, that Cachet's trying to figure out how to bring together decorative motifs and lettering, maybe for an architectural facade. Just imagine him in his studio trying to make this work! There’s a sunburst with stylized script, some wrought-iron tracery, a study of what looks like a finial or a lamp, and a gothic-style window, all crammed onto one page. These disparate elements create a conversation across the surface of the notebook. I wonder if the sketcher knew that the window form on the left-hand side would rhyme so satisfyingly with the sun-shape on the right? This really makes me think about my own studio practice, and how one small mark can transform the entire field of my painting. These notebook pages are so generous; it's like we get to see inside the artist's mind.