Kleed van écru halflinnen met kleurig borduurwerk. c. 1925

This embroidered cloth was made by Industrieschool De Windroos. The ecru linen provides a warm, neutral ground, like the first layer on a canvas, right? I can imagine the maker, carefully choosing each colored thread to create these floral motifs. The purples, blues, and greens are so lively against the raw linen. You can sense the hand working here, guiding the needle, building up the forms with simple stitches. I wonder what the artist was thinking about as they worked? About color? About form? Maybe they were inspired by the gardens they saw everyday. It’s like they’re conversing with a long history of needlework and painting at the same time. Each stitch, each choice of color, adds to this rich, ongoing exchange.