Ontwerp voor een tapijt met een fantasiefiguur 1920 - 1930

Dirk Verstraten made this carpet design with gouache, probably in the early 20th Century. It’s like a little world of ornament has been coaxed onto the paper! I can imagine Verstraten hunched over this, each tiny brushstroke building up these crazy architectural shapes, mixing golds and reds, adding dots of grey. What was he thinking about when he painted this? It feels otherworldly, more like something you would see in a dream. The symmetry makes me think it could be endlessly repeated. It’s like a visual mantra or a pattern for meditation. It reminds me of Hilma af Klint’s paintings and Agnes Pelton’s surreal landscapes – all artists obsessed with inner visions. When you look at it, you can sense how one artist can spark another's creativity, and it's interesting to see how each artist's vision comes to life.