Ontwerpen voor aardewerkdecoratie: appel, druif, bessen, vijg, radijs en aardbeien Possibly 1918

Theo Colenbrander made this design for earthenware decoration with graphite on tracing paper, but when it was exactly is unknown. The designs themselves float on the right, fruits rendered with a lightness of touch that speaks to their own fragility. It is so interesting to me to see these designs. The fruits here have been captured with a few lines. Look at the grapes, for example. See how the bunches have been described using only the bare minimum of marks needed to bring them into being. The way he captures the light playing on their skins. Then look at the weight of the radish designs at the bottom, they seem so much sturdier and more grounded than the delicate grapes. Colenbrander reminds me here of William Morris and his design work. Both looked to nature and found inspiration there, transforming it into pattern. Like Morris, Colenbrander opens up an imaginative space, where art embraces the beauty of suggestion.