Ontwerp voor vignet van de Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij 1874 - 1945

Carel Adolph Lion Cachet made this watercolour, a design for a vignette, with blues, golds and whites. It’s all swirly, like he’s depicting water, right? You can imagine him in his studio trying to capture movement with these colors. I love the gold accents scattered throughout; they catch the light and add a touch of shimmer to the watery scene. The blues are layered in washes, and the way they blend together gives the piece a sense of depth, almost like looking into the ocean. Maybe he was thinking about Hokusai’s wave when he made this? I find it so curious how the boat is just sort of there, plain and sketched out in the middle of all the action, like it has to be there but he’s more interested in the currents. As painters we often get stuck on what should be the focus of the piece, when really all we care about is the stuff around the edges.