Ontwerp voor een bank c. 1906

Carel Adolph Lion Cachet made this design for a bench using pencil on paper. The rapid lines, the slightly wonky perspective, it all hints at the energy of artmaking as a process. I love seeing this kind of directness, where you feel the artist thinking and working right there on the page. Look at the way the lines vary in thickness and pressure, creating depth and shadow with just a few strokes. There is a real sense of the hand here. It’s like the artist is sketching not just a bench, but also the idea of a bench, the potential for a bench, and maybe even the feeling of sitting on one. This reminds me of some of David Hockney’s sketchbooks, with that same kind of playful exploration of form and space. Art, at its best, is an open conversation, a way of seeing and thinking that invites us to bring our own perspectives to the table.