Thee 1894 - 1959

This illustration was made by Gordinne for the Rijksmuseum. The palette is fairly muted, with an emphasis on browns, greens, and yellows. There are no harsh lines; it’s rendered with soft-edged color blocks, and there’s an even, all-over feeling. I'm guessing Gordinne might have worked with a magnifying glass when producing this image. The scenes from the life cycle of tea – ‘Thee Oogsting’ (Tea Harvesting), ‘De Thee Kwekerij’ (Thee Nursery), ‘Voorbereiding van Groene Thee’ (Preparation of Green Tea) – are encased in magnifying glass circles, as if we are seeing more clearly. The artist is making visible to us – literally making clear – all the processes involved in this story of tea. The family scene at the bottom right is like an advertisement, and the overall effect of the image puts me in mind of community projects I’ve seen elsewhere, the kind of artwork that is used to inspire and educate.