Ontwerp voor een raam in het Noordertransept in de Dom te Utrecht c. 1878 - 1938

Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst made this design for a window in the North transept in the Dom church in Utrecht using pencil, gouache and charcoal. The artist’s hand feels close, with the initial sketch lines left visible, even though this is a design for something much bigger. The window is split into many little segments with a grid of black lines, like a comic strip. Each frame contains a different scene, from a man in a funny hat, to a big old bull! I like the contrast between the blue sections at the top, and the gold sections in the middle. I’m drawn to the way the images play with depth. Is that bull really standing behind the man, or are they in the same plane? Holst’s friend, the symbolist painter Jan Toorop, likely influenced his illustrative painting style and fondness for working in series. I see painting as a conversation. It is not about getting to the 'truth'.