Ontwerpen voor kleden of tableau's met monogrammen van scheepvaartmaatschappijen 1874 - 1945

Carel Adolph Lion Cachet made these designs for carpets or panels with shipping company monograms on paper with watercolor. The washes of watercolor are transparent and allow the grid beneath to come through and give a sense of order to the design. Look at the panel in the upper right; the blues and greens are carefully placed to create a sense of balance and symmetry. The design feels formal, yet the application of color is loose and free. It’s like a coloring-book design made physical. The smaller details of ornamentation in the corners are like the artist is working things out, trying out new arrangements, so that the final design comes across as something that has been built up over time and through experimentation. It is this sense of process which makes the drawing feel so alive. It reminds me of Hilma af Klint's design-like approach to composition as though the picture itself is a map of a journey.