Ontwerpen voor een juwelenkist 1874 - 1932

Mathieu Lauweriks made this design for a jewelry box, probably on paper, with graphite. Look at those arcs and tangents! You can see how Lauweriks almost mathematically generated the overall composition of the jewelry box design. I imagine him sitting at his desk with a compass, T-square and triangle, carefully plotting the different segments. The drawing feels very precise, almost like an architectural blueprint. I wonder if he was trying to figure out how to merge organic and geometric forms. You know, how to bring together the rigid lines of the box with the curvilinear forms of the ornamentation. It reminds me a bit of the kind of pattern-based work of designers like William Morris, but with a distinctly modern twist. There is something so satisfying about seeing the underlying structure and the potential for something decorative and beautiful to emerge. Artists are always talking to each other, so this makes you wonder what connections can be made across time.