Decoratief ontwerp in groen en blauw 1874 - 1945

Here is this watercolor and pencil design by Carel Adolph Lion Cachet, born in the Netherlands in 1864. I love how the design is laid out on that grid, like a blueprint for something that could be mass-produced, but also, maybe, a private, obsessive geometry, like Hilma af Klint's notebooks, or Agnes Martin's grids. The green and blue feel watery and flowing. There’s such an appealing push-pull between precision and looseness, control and the accidents of watercolor. I think I can feel Cachet figuring out how to reconcile these opposites. It looks like the kind of exercise I give myself, trying to find a balance between a pre-existing idea and the surprise of the medium. You start with a plan, but then you have to let go and see where the materials take you. That’s when the good stuff happens, right? It’s all about finding that sweet spot between intention and chance. I bet Cachet knew that too.