Ontwerp voor aardewerkdecoratie met plantaardige motieven Possibly 1920 - 1928

This is Theo Colenbrander’s sketch for a ceramic decoration, made with pencil. The drawing has an unfinished, intimate, and immediate quality. Look at the way the linear marks become plants. I’m really drawn to the tentative lines which trace over and around the bold, organic shapes. It gives the composition an almost dreamlike quality, blurring the boundary between reality and imagination. Imagine this on a plate! I love the idea of eating off this, the food becoming part of the art. The interplay between precision and fluidity makes me think of Hilma af Klint’s botanical drawings, both revealing a deep understanding of natural forms. The work invites multiple interpretations, defying any attempt to impose a single, fixed meaning. For me, this is what makes it so compelling.