Ontwerpen voor een stoel 1876 - 1924

These chair design sketches were made by Gerrit Willem Dijsselhof with a pencil. Notice how the chair is not just a mundane object but is elevated through the ornamental spiral, or volute. The volute is an ancient motif, dating back to the Ionic order of Greek columns. These spiraling forms aren't just decoration; they represent a sense of continuity, evolution, and even the unfolding of life itself. Consider the nautilus shell, a natural form mirroring the volute, symbolizing growth and transformation across cultures. We see echoes of this form in illuminated manuscripts, Baroque architecture, and even in the Art Nouveau movement, spanning millennia. This persistence suggests a deep-seated human fascination with the spiral, perhaps reflecting our own cognitive patterns and our quest for understanding the cosmos. Isn't it remarkable how a simple curve can carry such a wealth of meaning and history?