Decoratief ontwerp 1874 - 1945

Carel Adolph Lion Cachet made this watercolor drawing, with the title ‘Decoratief ontwerp,’ at an unknown date. It’s so great to see an artist at work, right? I can just imagine Cachet with his brushes and watercolors, maybe experimenting with different ways of seeing the world around him. The whole image is overlaid by the grid of the page which feels very modern. The composition feels very still and centered. There are these grey, almost symmetrical flourishes, but then, just at the bottom, something that looks very much like two people sitting facing one another. What were they saying to each other? Paintings like these are part of an ongoing conversation between artists across time. Cachet’s really got me thinking today. It reminds me that painting is a form of expression. It's an exploration, right? It embraces ambiguity and uncertainty.