Ornament met een zittende leeuw op een sokkel c. 1928

Editor: Here we have Carel Adolph Lion Cachet’s pencil drawing, "Ornament met een zittende leeuw op een sokkel," from around 1928, at the Rijksmuseum. It seems more like a preparatory sketch than a finished drawing. What strikes you about this work? Curator: The lion, even in this rudimentary form, remains an archetypal symbol, a solar emblem connected to royalty and strength across numerous cultures. Notice the pedestal beneath it—the artist places this primal force within a structure. How do you interpret that juxtaposition? Editor: I guess the base contains it, domesticates it. So the lion on the pedestal makes me think of national identity... like the Lion rampant of Scotland. Curator: Precisely! Cachet’s study brings into focus the deliberate construction of national or cultural symbols. The lion is mediated, curated almost, to project specific desired qualities. Editor: So even an unfinished sketch points towards how we choose to represent our values? It's not inherent, it's constructed through symbols, right? Curator: Exactly! Visual culture imprints collective memory. Cachet is investigating the visual grammar itself, isn't he? Through geometry and composition. Look at those shapes to the side. Editor: Right. I initially overlooked those lines as not particularly useful to understanding the image, but now that I think about it, they show a system that produces meaning and impacts how the figure of the lion is culturally interpreted. Curator: Symbols echo and transform over time. I learned seeing how construction and choice play out even in these sparse marks of Cachet's sketch. Editor: And seeing a sketch that shows an artist consciously working on a nation's or group’s image—that makes me more aware of those choices now.