Ontwerp voor een wandbetimmering 1908

This is a pencil sketch for a wall panel design by Carel Adolph Lion Cachet, housed here at the Rijksmuseum. You can see the light pressure of the pencil as he teases out the shape of the panelling, and the way that each vertical line appears to tremble slightly. There’s something quite beautiful and intimate about seeing a piece like this, not a grand finished work but a gentle sketch. I find myself drawn to the columns on either side of the central panel, the way that they echo, and yet remain distinct. It makes you think about the nature of making, of sketching, of how an idea transforms through the hand and the eye. This piece reminds me of Agnes Martin’s subtle grids, each line a testament to the artist's touch. Art is an ongoing conversation, and this sketch is a quiet but essential part of it.