Ontwerpen voor een beker voor een theeservies c. 1874 - 1932

This is Mathieu Lauweriks' pencil design for a teacup, we don't know exactly when it was made. The process feels so open, like he’s thinking aloud on paper. What I love is how the geometric framework strains against the freehand shading. It's like he's wrestling with the ideal form of the cup. You can see the ghost of symmetry, the kind that insists on order, but the hand just wants to move and shade. Look how the shadows aren't perfect, they hint at the curves of the cup. Lauweriks was interested in geometric systems, and you see that rigor here. But it's softened by the imperfect, human touch. It reminds me of Hilma af Klint's early work, searching for a structure to contain something ineffable. Art's like a conversation, isn't it? An ongoing attempt to grasp the intangible. It's never finished, always a beautiful, messy process.