Studies of Plants 1874 - 1945

Editor: This is "Studies of Plants," an enchanting drawing by Carel Adolph Lion Cachet, made sometime between 1874 and 1945. It's currently held at the Rijksmuseum. It looks so delicate. It almost feels like the plants are whispering secrets. What do you see in this piece that I might be missing? Curator: Whispering secrets...I love that! It does have a hushed quality, doesn’t it? To me, it feels like stepping into a memory of a summer field. Notice how he uses line— so precise, almost scientific, yet those soft pencil strokes give it a dreamy quality. It’s both observation and feeling, wouldn't you agree? The pops of yellow subtly add an element of aliveness to it. What is so striking is how much empty space exists - that choice becomes crucial to understanding it - no? Editor: Absolutely. I guess the emptiness does add to that quiet feeling. Why not fill the whole page with detail? It makes me think he wanted us to focus on just those individual plants and the delicate way they exist in space. I wonder if he was trying to capture something specific about Dutch nature? Curator: Perhaps. Or perhaps, in the space between the lines, we're meant to find our own memories of fields and sunlight, adding our own secrets to the whisper. The "truth" in what he chooses to capture as the essential minimum is an important insight for a naturalism, don't you think? And did it even exist until he helped us to see it? It's more powerful to capture the _feeling_ of those places - the scent in the air, that light buzz - as opposed to any "natural" standard of capturing a landscape. Editor: Wow, that makes me think about it differently. So, it's less about an accurate portrayal and more about… capturing an essence? I’ll definitely remember that. Thanks for helping me understand "Studies of Plants" so much better. Curator: My pleasure! It's like he’s giving us a stage, and we, as viewers, complete the play. Until we see these quiet spaces as art, are we not really still blinded?