Cotton Kerchief c. 1937

Percival Jenner made this design for a cotton kerchief using watercolor, probably sometime in the early to mid twentieth century. I love how the whole thing is built from repeated shapes, like a puzzle he's endlessly tinkering with. There's something so satisfying about the way Jenner builds up the brown background, layer after layer, almost like he's staining the paper. And then those little pops of blue, green, and yellow, like tiny rebellions against the overall order. Check out the way he renders the paisley shapes. The patterns within patterns echo the broader organization of the design. The whole thing feels both structured and loose. It reminds me a little of someone like Hilma af Klint, who also found ways to create abstract compositions based on botanical forms. But whereas Klint was trying to capture mystical truths, Jenner seems content with just creating a beautiful pattern. Who knows, maybe beauty is truth, and truth beauty?