Staal met bedrukte zijde, dessin Strohblume 1910 - 1914

This is ‘Staal met bedrukte zijde, dessin Strohblume’, a printed silk design made by the Wiener Werkstätte, and what strikes me is how the design is a process made visible. The pattern is dense, a field of flowers, and yet it feels light. There's a controlled looseness to the inking, as if the artist let the design flow without being too controlling. The colors are cheerful but with a slightly muted quality, like memories of a garden rather than the thing itself. I like how each flower has these irregular outlines. It's not about perfect symmetry, but about the joy of the hand. The black and white striped ground is so visually disruptive. This piece reminds me of Matisse’s cut-outs, the way he used simple shapes and bold colors to create a sense of movement and rhythm. But while Matisse was aiming for a kind of serene harmony, this feels a bit more wild and unruly. A bit more playful and alive.