Witte lelies

Carel Adolph Lion Cachet prints show the inventive side of Dutch Art Nouveau, the style the Dutch call Nieuwe Kunst. Lion Cachet designed almost everything: ocean liner interiors, banknotes, posters, calendars, bookplates and ceramics. Our collection of fine art prints reproduces his working drawings, from intricate magazine covers and zodiac medallions to ship designs and royal souvenirs, many with his colour notes still visible.

About Carel Adolph Lion Cachet

Carel Adolph Lion Cachet was born in Amsterdam on 28 November 1864. He trained first as a teacher (1880–85) and then as a drawing teacher (1887–90). In 1892 he, Gerrit Willem Dijsselhof and Theo Nieuwenhuis designed a set of diplomas that helped launch the new Dutch decorative style.

He became best known for complete interiors for the ships of the Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland, from music-room domes to upholstery and wall paintings. He also designed Dutch banknotes of the 1930s, royal souvenirs, ceramics for De Porceleyne Fles, and hundreds of bookplates and book covers. He died in Vreeland in May 1945.

Style and Subjects

Lion Cachet's early designs are dense and intricate, built from stylised plants, animals and geometric borders. Many were made with batik, the Indonesian wax-resist technique, and his calendar sheets of the 1890s have its warm browns, golds and deep reds.

His later work moves towards Art Deco, with cleaner geometry and bolder lettering, as in his posters for the Utrecht trade fair. Because our prints come from his working drawings, you often see pencil grids, colour notes and the hand of the designer at work.

Famous Works

• Cover for De Kunstwereld (1894). The art weekly's cover, Nieuwe Kunst at its most intricate.
• Calendar sheet, March 1894 (1894). One of his batik-coloured calendar sheets of the 1890s.
• Design for a stained-glass dome for the music room of the ship J.P. Coen. A red and gold skylight for an ocean liner.
• Circle with the Signs of the Zodiac. The twelve signs in a blue and gold medallion around a red centre.
• Ex libris of the Johannes Henoch Neethling collection, Victoria College, Stellenbosch (1909). A Dutch bookplate made for a South African library.
• Announcement for the Jaarbeurs Utrecht (1917). Bold red and blue type for the trade fair.
• Poster for the 40th jubilee of Queen Wilhelmina (1938). Forty years of a reign framed in garden flowers.

Decorating with Lion Cachet Prints

Lion Cachet's batik calendars and bookplates have warm, earthy colours that suit a study, library or reading corner, especially with dark wood and leather. Hang a calendar sheet for a birth month, or a row of them as a set.

His ship designs and zodiac medallion bring pattern and gold to a hallway, dining room or living room with an Art Nouveau or Art Deco feel. The posters and lettering pieces, such as Kennis is macht (Knowledge is power), make a fine choice for a home office or classroom.

FAQ

What art movement was Lion Cachet part of?

He was a leading figure of Nieuwe Kunst, the Dutch form of Art Nouveau, from about 1892. His later work points towards Art Deco.

What is Lion Cachet best known for?

Complete interiors for the ocean liners of the Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland. He also designed Dutch banknotes, posters, bookplates and ceramics.

What is batik, and why does it matter to his work?

Batik is an Indonesian wax-resist dyeing technique. Lion Cachet and his circle adapted it for book covers, calendars and decorative panels in the 1890s.

Where can I see Lion Cachet's work?

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam holds a large group of his design drawings, the source of most of our prints.

Who were Lion Cachet's closest colleagues?

Gerrit Willem Dijsselhof and Theo Nieuwenhuis, with whom he made the 1892 diplomas that helped start the Nieuwe Kunst style.

Related Artists

• Theo Nieuwenhuis: his partner in launching Nieuwe Kunst in 1892
• Gerrit Willem Dijsselhof: the third of the 1892 Nieuwe Kunst trio
• Jan Toorop: Dutch painter who brought the style to posters and Symbolist pictures
• Alphonse Mucha: the great Art Nouveau designer in Paris
• Eugène Grasset: French decorative designer of the same years