Ornamenten met schepen, vogels en bloemen c. 1925

Curator: The wispy pencil lines lend a dreamlike quality, don't they? Editor: Absolutely, there’s an ethereal quality. It’s like glimpsing half-formed memories. Curator: This is "Ornamenten met schepen, vogels en bloemen," or "Ornaments with ships, birds, and flowers," by Carel Adolph Lion Cachet, created around 1925. It’s currently held in the Rijksmuseum's collection. It's a drawing in pencil on paper. Editor: Given the presence of ships, do you think that birds, together with ships, symbolize voyages of discovery, a search for knowledge, perhaps reflecting the optimism after the First World War? Curator: It's possible. The prevalence of ships in art throughout history certainly carries maritime power, navigation and trade connotations. But it's also Cachet at a time when the Art Nouveau style that marks it with decorative freedom in design became popular in European works. The lines, the shapes, are far more interesting than what’s being represented. Editor: Interesting that you interpret it that way. I'd argue that ships themselves carry multiple historical interpretations. They were primary signifiers of wealth during the Dutch Golden Age. Ships facilitated exploration, migration, and conquest. Curator: That’s very true. However, this seems to be a study for a larger work. These are vessels, motifs almost, contained within geometric frameworks on what appears to be gridded paper. To me it lacks, somehow, that overwhelming sense of power. Editor: Perhaps you are right, although, doesn’t even a preliminary sketch reveal a perspective, even a slight ideological stance, embedded within the culture that produces and consumes these images? These symbols aren't neutral, even in draft form. Curator: Precisely. Their enduring resonance comes from layers of meaning, intention, and cultural coding over time. Thank you for the interesting conversation! Editor: A pleasure. Thanks for drawing attention to an image easily passed over.