Prins Willem I en Marnix van Sint-Aldegonde 1874 - 1945

Carel Adolph Lion Cachet made this sketch of Prins Willem I en Marnix van Sint-Aldegonde at an unknown date using graphite and crayon. Look closely, and you'll see the whole thing is built up from delicate marks, as if the artist is feeling their way around the subject. The texture here is soft and powdery, like looking at something through frosted glass. The surface is alive with subtle gradations and the figures emerge from a haze of muted colors. See how the black bars of the window frame act like a grid, almost dissecting the figures and flattening the space. They’re trapped, like specimens, or maybe they are elevated, as if framed by a holy light. There is a tension between the flat pattern-making and the desire to represent something monumental. Cachet seems to be in conversation with stained glass, and medieval art in general, with its flattened perspective and symbolic use of color. Like with Paula Modersohn-Becker, we are reminded of the enduring power of early art to inspire artists across time. Ultimately, art is not about answers but about the questions it provokes.