Ontwerp voor een hanger met een slapend vrouwenhoofd en papavers, van geëmailleerd goud c. 1905

Paul Louchet rendered this design for a pendant with a sleeping woman’s head and poppies, in pencil and watercolor. I can imagine him carefully building up the layers, adding details, shifting between pencil and watercolor, trying to conjure the play of light on the gold and enamel. I feel a real sympathy for Louchet and this drawing; it speaks to a certain kind of obsessive craftiness, this impulse to bring beauty and refinement to an object, to adorn and elevate the everyday. The sleeping face is framed by stylized poppies and tendrils that seem to cradle the head; it gives the figure a feeling of serene enclosure. This detailed drawing is not just a design, it’s a reverie; it’s about the sensuous properties of metal and enamel. The sinuous lines and delicate washes of color—lilac, gold, and sky blue—create a dreamlike atmosphere, and that’s where this piece exists: a quiet exploration of color and form, a delicate dance between representation and decoration.