Blanco handtekeningenblad met zeepaardjes 1884 - 1952

Editor: Here we have "Blanco handtekeningenblad met zeepaardjes," a name which trips off the tongue, by Reinier Willem Petrus de Vries, dating somewhere between 1884 and 1952. It’s a drawing or print using ink on paper... It feels unfinished, but elegant. What leaps out at you? Curator: Unfinished, perhaps, but brimming with potential, like a stage set before the actors arrive. The symmetry of the seahorses facing each other… don’t you find they evoke a heraldic quality, as if guarding something sacred, something… blank? Imagine signing your name there, adding a flourish to this elegant dance of lines. The Art Nouveau influence is palpable, wouldn’t you say? That embrace of nature, translated into flowing, decorative form. Editor: Yes, the Art Nouveau is strong! It makes me think of vintage posters, absinthe, Toulouse-Lautrec... Curator: Exactly! It's escapist and yet it anchors itself in crisp geometry. And the seahorses...why seahorses, do you think? Editor: Well, they're kind of whimsical, but also maybe a bit mythical? They're not your everyday animal. Curator: Precisely! And Vries positions them above this architectural construct. To me that whispers of aspiration. That impulse towards dreams...a personal flourish in the stark geometry of life. Perhaps signing becomes less banal, when underscored by something extraordinary? Or at least wonderfully weird. Editor: It’s interesting how that small detail can elevate something so functional. I see this piece in a completely new light. Curator: It's about that alchemy. Looking closely, always, to unlock it. Thank you for the conversation.