Ontwerp voor een hanglamp 1874 - 1945

Carel Adolph Lion Cachet made this study for a hanging lamp with graphite on paper. It lives here in the Rijksmuseum. There's an openness about this work on paper. It gives me permission to think loosely and make connections, a bit like how I feel when I’m making a painting. The artist’s hand is really evident in the sketched lines. You can see the starts and stops. What I find so intriguing is the combination of technical drawing and freehand sketch. Take the spirals, for instance. They’re not quite perfect, a little wobbly, which gives them character. There’s something really beautiful about seeing the ghost of an idea as it comes into focus. It reminds me that art, like life, is never really finished, just temporarily resolved. It reminds me of drawings by Josef Albers - a great way of thinking through making!