De Hengstenleider 1878 - 1938

Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst made this drawing, “De Hengstenleider”, with dry chalk. I love how the marks are allowed to exist as these open, searching lines, like he’s feeling his way around the form. It's a real process. The brown chalk sits on the paper in a way that’s both delicate and assertive. You can see the grain of the paper underneath, which gives it a kind of quiet energy. The face of the figure emerges from a field of smoky smudges and definite lines. There’s a real tension between the precision of the contour and the vagueness of the shadows. Look at the way the eyebrow is defined, the line is so confident and full of character. It’s like he’s captured the essence of a person with just a few strokes. It reminds me of Käthe Kollwitz. Both of them using a limited palette to such expressive ends. It's a reminder that art is not just about what you see, but how you feel and how you interpret.