Opdrachtblad voor een album voor Prof. Mr. L. den Hartog 1902

This 'Opdrachtblad voor een album voor Prof. Mr. L. den Hartog' was made by Reinier Willem Petrus de Vries at an unknown date using some kind of paint medium. Imagine the artist carefully applying the gold paint, swirling it into decorative patterns, while filling the central rectangle with blue. I love the combination of the rigid geometric shapes with the delicate naturalistic elements. The winged creatures holding scales above the text create a sense of balance and justice. I wonder what de Vries was thinking about while creating this piece, perhaps reflecting on the importance of education, or maybe just enjoying the tactile process of applying the paint. It reminds me a bit of the work of other artists that experimented with similar approaches to graphic design at the time, like Aubrey Beardsley. It’s as if they were all in a conversation, building on each other's ideas, exchanging visual languages and approaches to image making. Painting is this ongoing dialogue across time, where artists draw inspiration from one another, embracing ambiguity and inviting multiple interpretations.