Parasol met dek witte katoen bedrukt met roze en blauwe vogeltjes, op een bamboe stok met gebogen handvat c. 1930 - 1940

This parasol with white cotton, printed with pink and blue birds, on a bamboo stick with a curved handle was made by Gustav Schnitzler. It’s not dated, but I get a feeling that the colour palette here is all about softness. I love how the material aspect of the parasol is so delicate, so different from painting, but it still has that idea of a surface being worked on. I notice the texture of the cotton, almost like a very loose weave, which gives the birds and flowers printed on the top a broken, slightly blurred quality. It's as if the design is part of the fabric itself, rather than just sitting on top. Look closely at the way the bamboo is bent into that elegant curve at the handle. It makes me think of Art Nouveau, that love of organic forms and flowing lines. You know, people like Aubrey Beardsley, with their focus on decoration. But here, instead of just being decorative, the parasol is also useful. It is design as an embrace of both form and function.