Staal bespanningsstof naar ontwerp van Theo Nieuwenhuis in passe-partout c. 1910

This is a design for jacquard woven fabric by Theo Nieuwenhuis. It’s got a muted, earthy palette, like it was unearthed from some ancient archive. I can imagine Nieuwenhuis, totally absorbed, sketching and redrawing these intricate motifs. Look at those dragons and stylized flowers. What was he thinking about as he repeated and mirrored these forms? Was he meditating on the material itself, the feel of the thread, the way the light would catch the woven surface? There’s such a physicality to this design, even though it exists on paper. It makes me want to reach out and touch it. It reminds me of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement, where design was a philosophical and political act. I imagine Nieuwenhuis, Morris, and other designers, artists, and makers in constant dialogue across time and space. Each gesture, each choice of color and form, adding to a rich conversation that’s been going on for centuries. They inspire and challenge each other, their ideas rippling through the world, shaping the way we see and experience it.