Perzisch-Arabische florale tegelversiering c. 1890 - 1922

This Persian-Arabic floral tile design was made by Johanna van de Kamer, likely with watercolors and ink. I can almost feel her leaning over the page, carefully rendering each petal and curve. The palette is soft— blues, greens, and touches of red—all contained within a delicate, almost tentative outline. The whole thing feels both precise and dreamy. What was she thinking as she made this? Was she transported to the places these patterns came from? The way the lines meet and diverge, creating a sense of rhythm and balance, reminds me of Matisse's cut-outs, where line becomes form. There’s such a sense of pleasure in pattern-making, in seeing how shapes and colors play off each other. I love the way artists borrow and build upon each other's ideas—it's one big, beautiful conversation.