Wall Paper c. 1937

Karl Joubert made this wallpaper design with daisies and dots in the late 19th or early 20th century using gouache and graphite. It’s a flat piece, aiming for reproduction, but the artist's hand is still so apparent. Look at the dots, for example. They're not perfect—they vary slightly in size and placement. It's this imperfection that gives the piece so much life, and the daisies are so free and breezy. Joubert shares a sensibility with pattern designers like William Morris, but his touch is lighter, more playful. There’s a sense of someone enjoying the act of creation, embracing the slight wobbles, the little mistakes that make the design feel so human. This piece really shows art’s open-endedness.