Tussenzetsel van wit kant met aaneengeregen wielen op karton c. 1920

This is a fragment, a ‘Tussenzetsel van wit kant met aaneengeregen wielen op karton,’ by Gustav Schnitzler, tucked away here at the Rijksmuseum. I love the idea of taking something so ephemeral and pinning it to a more permanent surface! It’s a bit like gluing collage to a canvas, or drawing on paper. I wonder, was this lace-maker also an artist, working with the same kind of trial and error that painters do? The lace itself looks so delicate, those rows of tiny interconnected wheels, like thoughts linked together, one leading to the next. I can imagine the maker’s hands, patiently guiding the threads, teasing out this intricate pattern. And then, a final decision: to set it against this torn piece of cardboard, adding another layer of texture and history. Maybe Schnitzler was thinking about geometry, or repetition? Or maybe it was simply about capturing a moment of beauty before it disappears. Either way, it’s a reminder that art can be found in the most unexpected places!