Ontwerp voor een ex libris voor de zoon van de kunstenaar 1874 - 1945

Editor: So this drawing, "Ontwerp voor een ex libris voor de zoon van de kunstenaar", created between 1874 and 1945 by Carel Adolph Lion Cachet... It looks like a design for a bookplate, using pencil and print. It feels very geometric, almost heraldic. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The symbolism jumps out at me. Note how the lions, rendered in this Art Nouveau style, aren’t merely decorative. The lion, of course, is often tied to courage, royalty, even Christ. In heraldry, lions denote bravery, valor. Do you notice the lions' arrangement around the central monogram? Editor: Yes, it looks like the lions are almost guarding or protecting something. I suppose it’s a visual pun, considering the artist's last name. Curator: Precisely. A heraldic lion represents power, nobility. Here, repeated, it might be intended as a blessing on the artist's son, his namesake's protector. A hope for the boy's future, rendered in symbolic code. See how the swirling lines echo both Art Nouveau’s organic forms but also ancient knotwork—interlaced destinies? Editor: So it’s more than just a pretty bookplate; it's loaded with intention and layered meaning. And designed for personal use as a reflection of personal legacy! Curator: The choice of rendering those hopes through an ex libris makes a statement, doesn’t it? A mark of ownership is intertwined with blessings and good will that one literally sends forward into the world, book by book. What an extraordinary convergence! Editor: That adds a lot of depth! I’d only seen a cool design. Thanks to your expertise I now see a narrative, a heartfelt wish for a young boy encoded in symbols.