Ontwerp, mogelijk voor een meubel 1908

Curator: Here we have "Ontwerp, mogelijk voor een meubel," which translates to "Design, possibly for a piece of furniture," created in 1908 by Carel Adolph Lion Cachet. It’s currently held in the Rijksmuseum. The work is executed primarily in pencil on paper. Editor: Immediately, the word that comes to mind is "fragile." The faded pencil lines, the aged paper, it's like looking at a whisper from the past. The geometrical patterns are really subtle and gentle, do you see it too? Curator: Absolutely. The lines themselves possess a delicate quality, especially viewed through the lens of structuralism. Observe how the artist employs these very thin lines, creating a layered visual plane, almost an unfolding of space. It’s an excellent example of the era’s Art Nouveau sensibility. Editor: Yes! And that Art Nouveau touch gives it this sort of elegant, flowing grace, doesn't it? I keep thinking about the object this design was for…perhaps a cabinet, or some kind of fancy screen. Imagine, that those curves and details come to life and becoming real objects that you could actually touch. A dream of making ideas physical…I guess, what is designing about otherwise. Curator: That resonates, particularly regarding its formalism. We can see, the potential energy imbued in what you've called its "flowing grace," even though it remains static on paper. Its form embodies dynamism. We see form used in pure essence and, it remains independent from representation in other, lets say more "strict" designs. Editor: I find something poetic in the way those fading pencil marks echo how quickly time vanishes away all the creations…or our existence, to keep it serious. Yet, something from that intention, it survives... Curator: A perfect summary, that captures how this modest design drawing can encapsulate entire aesthetic and philosophical notions about existence and timeless beauty. Editor: Right, thank you so much! That image really touched me.