Ontwerp voor een vaas 1874 - 1932

This pencil sketch of a vase was made by Mathieu Lauweriks at some point in his career. What's cool about a sketch like this is that it's all about the process. It's like Lauweriks is thinking aloud, working through the form with these tentative lines. The texture is so immediate; you can almost feel the roughness of the paper and the soft give of the pencil. Look at the way the lines build up, creating this dense, almost sculptural form. There's a real tension between the precision of the design and the looseness of the drawing. Notice the loops at the top, how they sort of unravel, adding a touch of whimsy to the whole thing. It's like the vase is dreaming of becoming something else. This reminds me of the early sketches by Gustav Klimt, where you can see him feeling his way toward the finished composition. Art is just a conversation between artists, across time, each riffing on what came before. And ultimately, it's about embracing the messy, unresolved questions rather than seeking easy answers.