Coverlet c. 1940

Cornelius Christoffels created this coverlet design in watercolor and graphite. It’s all soft pinks, blues, and tans, like a faded memory. I can imagine him hunched over a table, carefully plotting out each tiny cross-stitch. It's so intricate, almost obsessive! The way the floral patterns repeat and mirror each other is mesmerizing, like looking into a kaleidoscope. You can almost see him working and reworking, trying to get it just right. It reminds me of Gee's Bend quilts, or maybe some outsider art I’ve seen. There's a real folk art sensibility, that interest in creating beauty out of everyday materials and traditional designs. And the way the colors bleed together, there's a definite conversation with color field painting, you know, Rothko and those guys. Artists build on each other, borrowing ideas, responding to what came before. It makes me wonder what his life was like, what inspired him. What stories were woven into his work? I love how painting lets you do that, open up these spaces of imagination and speculation.