Ontwerpen voor wanddecoratie c. 1905 - 1910

This drawing of a wall decoration was made by Carel Adolph Lion Cachet, and you can see it now at the Rijksmuseum. Cachet has marked up the paper with delicate, sinuous pencil lines. The image feels like an outpouring of interior thoughts rendered in a state of flow. I wonder what was on his mind that day, and how the act of drawing these interwoven, abstract designs served as a kind of meditation or exploration. See how the lines loop and swirl, creating forms that resemble mythical creatures or tangled vines? Perhaps he was inspired by the flowing lines of Art Nouveau, or by the intricate patterns found in nature. It reminds me of the way artists riff off of one another, borrowing and transforming ideas across generations. Whether it’s Cy Twombly channeling the energy of Jackson Pollock, or Cachet finding inspiration in earlier design movements, art is always a conversation. It embraces uncertainty and invites multiple interpretations, because fixed meanings? Fuggedaboutit!