Ornamentontwerpen c. 1897 - 1898

Curator: Looking at this page from Carel Adolph Lion Cachet's sketchbook, created around 1897-1898, the term 'Ornamentontwerpen' comes to mind. It's a flurry of initial ideas rendered in pencil and ink. The work is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. What's your first impression of these ornamental designs? Editor: Faint, ethereal even. I see tentative explorations of Art Nouveau motifs. The curving lines and organic forms suggest growth, but there's a definite formality, a structural element preventing total whimsy. Are we looking at furniture? Curator: It appears so. You've rightly identified those Art Nouveau aesthetics – think whiplash curves, the integration of natural forms, which aligns perfectly with the broader artistic movements advocating for uniting fine and applied arts that were going on at the time. There's a drawing of a hat at the top too, very evocative of the turn of the century naval fashion. Editor: The hat indeed shows symbols of power! Speaking of integration, notice the heavy reliance on symmetry here, in contrast to the supposed "organic" flow? Do you feel that it undercuts that idea? What could it mean, considering the era? Curator: The symmetry certainly tempers the organic impression. However, it grounds the designs and possibly caters to an elite market. Cachet worked within a social context valuing handcrafted items with industrial potential. Symmetry aided in reproducibility and appealed to notions of "high art," crucial for navigating the art world. He certainly embraced themes tied to nationhood too. Editor: Absolutely. The ornamentation evokes images, a visual language specific to the social classes using it. Look at how many swirling and shell-like patterns decorate a hat – all these objects, seemingly disparate, work to establish this man as a symbol. The recurring symbols help transmit messages through time! Curator: Cachet, certainly well connected to circles advocating an art embedded in societal life, played on the imagery for cultural memory. Ornament served a vital role. Editor: I see these sketches as more than blueprints; it's a condensed history of aesthetic ideologies wrestling with identity. It speaks volumes to look at the objects through these different angles! Curator: It certainly gives food for thought, how ornament connects people through culture.