Figuurstudies, planten en dieren 1928

Carel Adolph Lion Cachet made this sketch, titled "Figuurstudies, planten en dieren," using graphite on paper. Cachet lived through a time of immense social and political change, as he was born just before the abolition of slavery in the Dutch colonies. The image is a loose collection of sketches, from animals to people, seemingly unrelated yet coexisting on the same plane. There's an intimacy to these images – they feel like stolen moments, as if Cachet was trying to capture the essence of his subjects in their most natural state. Is Cachet trying to show us how interconnected the human and natural worlds are? Perhaps he is commenting on how everyone, regardless of class, race or species, is just trying to exist and be seen? Whether intentional or not, this sketch invites us to consider our relationships to each other.