Ontwerp voor een tapijt met vierkanten, rechthoeken en variaties op 'L'-vormen 1929

Dirk Verstraten made this carpet design with colored pencil and gouache in 1929. I love how the composition embraces imperfections, rejecting any rigid geometry. There's a real charm in how the simple forms feel deliberately hand-drawn, a testament to artmaking as a human, and very much fallible, process. The texture has a tactile quality, inviting you to imagine running your fingers across its surface. The color palette, dominated by earthy reds, browns, and oranges, creates a warm and inviting atmosphere. The gouache appears almost matte, grounding the piece in a sense of understated elegance. See how Verstraten used these intersecting dark lines to define many of the shapes. This creates a kind of implied depth, like looking at a complex architectural plan. Verstraten’s design reminds me of the work of Paul Klee, who, like Verstraten, was interested in the interplay between abstraction and representation, but also ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. To me, it’s a reminder that art is an ongoing conversation, an exchange of ideas across time and space.