Ontwerp voor een elektrische hanglamp c. 1905

Curator: Here we have a preliminary sketch by Carel Adolph Lion Cachet, dating back to around 1905, titled "Ontwerp voor een elektrische hanglamp" or "Design for an Electric Pendant Lamp" now residing here at the Rijksmuseum. It's rendered with pencil and ink on paper. Editor: It looks almost like a diagram, quite stark and functional at first glance. But those delicate flourishes hint at something more decorative, perhaps even symbolic. What exactly did people expect of this design in its era? Curator: It’s a fascinating intersection of the practical and the aesthetic. The late 19th and early 20th centuries witnessed the rise of electricity, becoming integrated into the everyday lives of people, with electric lighting slowly becoming ubiquitous. And Cachet, immersed in the Art Nouveau movement, likely viewed this not just as functional technology but an opportunity to blend artistry into this new electrical era, reflecting societal shifts and values. Editor: Yes, Art Nouveau. You can see it now in the swirling motifs. Electric light, newly embraced—that must have held significant promise for the future. There's something alchemic, almost, about turning darkness into light with such nascent technology. The choice to embellish it transforms what could have been simply functional. I'm curious to think about light, of knowledge being suspended above like a gift. Curator: That idea of light as knowledge ties directly into how the upper classes viewed art's ability to elevate. It was not just decoration. For Cachet, function could never merely be the thing itself; there's a social responsibility there, embedded in making daily life inherently aestheticized. Even a humble lamp is about communicating the status of the homeowner who procured it. Editor: A coded message delivered in illumination, yes. Seeing how rudimentary this sketch is gives some idea to what would have ultimately translated into wrought iron or stained glass, but the seed of design and that deeper intent existed at the start. A very modern integration of practicality with ideals, or at least aspirations. Curator: Absolutely, we glimpse not only a beautiful lamp, but also social attitudes, ambitions around art’s social influence. Editor: Makes one ponder the values imbued in today's technology and how artists might be encoding those new meanings. Curator: Exactly, different medium, similar societal intentions, really.