Kandelaar van porselein beschilderd met vogels en bloemen 1903

This porcelain candlestick, painted with birds and flowers, was made by N.V. Haagsche Plateelfabriek Rozenburg. The soft colour palette reminds me of a watercolour painting, with its translucent washes and delicate brushstrokes. I wonder what it was like to paint on porcelain. Was it smooth and slippery, or did it have a bit of tooth? Did the paint glide on effortlessly, or did it resist the brush? I imagine the artist carefully building up the layers of colour, one stroke at a time, allowing each layer to dry before adding the next. Look at that purple flower at the top, see how the painter has used tiny dots of paint to create texture and depth. It reminds me of pointillism, but with a softer, more organic feel. And then there's the bird perched at the bottom. Its feathers are rendered in such detail, with each tiny stroke capturing the subtle variations in colour and light. It’s as if the artist wanted to capture the bird's essence, its fleeting presence in the world. Isn’t painting just that—an attempt to capture a moment, an emotion, a feeling, and hold onto it forever?