Coverlet c. 1940

This is Cornelius Christoffels’s ‘Coverlet’. Christoffels, who lived from 1879 to 1960, presents us with what seems to be a fragment of a larger textile design. Born at the tail end of the 19th century, Christoffels was working during a period of rapid industrialization and urbanization, as well as growing interest in folk art and the Arts and Crafts movement, which sought to re-establish connections to handmade traditions. As you look at the coverlet, consider how the traditional craft of textile design becomes a space of both cultural preservation and personal expression. The cross-stitch technique evokes a sense of domesticity, of women's work and intergenerational knowledge. The coverlet uses traditional motifs, yet the rendering feels contemporary and the composition is experimental. The red, blue and beige tones speak to me of home and heritage. I wonder, what feelings does it evoke in you? Through his distinctive approach to color and composition, Christoffels offers us a space to reflect on the dynamic interplay between tradition and modernity, individual experience and collective identity.