Bloem 1874 - 1945

This flower, or "Bloem" as Carel Adolph Lion Cachet titled it, probably emerged tentatively, from a grey wash of thin paint. Look at how the white pigment nervously gathers, each stroke mapping the emerging form. I can imagine him, brush in hand, trying to capture the lightness of the bloom, unsure of where to start. It’s like the painting itself is a delicate thing, a living organism, as fragile as the flower it depicts. There is an ambiguity here: is it a study, a sketch, or a finished work? So many painters, like Manet, or even Twombly, left things unresolved. A single gesture can be so evocative! Cachet's flower reminds us that art isn't about perfection but about the beauty found in the process of becoming, the space between intention and realization. And that’s where the magic happens, where the painting takes on a life of its own.