Stoel en florale ornamenten c. 1901

Here is a sketch made by Gerrit Willem Dijsselhof, of a chair and floral ornaments. You can see the ruled lines of the paper below, giving the impression that this was quickly and easily done, perhaps in a design meeting? Dijsselhof seems to be working out an idea. What could be functional objects are broken apart and re-imagined as a series of curving lines. It is not about illustrating something in a realistic way but about finding a language of forms. Look at that floral ornament: it curls like smoke. I can imagine him drawing and redrawing it, trying out different versions and permutations. He probably wasn't thinking too hard, but letting his hand move across the page, improvising. I often think about how artists are in an ongoing conversation, building on each other's ideas. Isn't it interesting how Dijsselhof’s sketch still speaks to us now?