Figuurstudie voor de affiche Lucifer van Vondel 1878 - 1938

This is a pencil drawing by Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst, called "Figuurstudie voor de affiche Lucifer van Vondel." I can see him there, Roland Holst, with his pencil, thinking, planning the drama of Lucifer. What’s so cool about drawing is that you can find your way into a subject. It’s like feeling around in the dark until you start to see the form, the idea, of what you’re trying to express. Look at the way the figure hugs himself, that’s an attitude, a feeling. You can see the tenderness in those lines, even though he’s drawing Lucifer, the ultimate rebel. It reminds me that every mark carries a bit of the artist's soul, their hesitations, their convictions. And how those choices accumulate to create something that speaks, something that has its own kind of truth. Roland Holst shows us that even a study, a preliminary sketch, can be a profound statement. Artists are always having a conversation across time, inspiring each other.