Ontwerpen voor poorten 1865

Johan R. Kruyff made these designs for gates using graphite on paper sometime between the mid-19th and early 20th century. The delicate graphite lines allow us to see Kruyff's vision for these ornate structures. We get a sense of his design process, the way he built up layers of detail to capture the elaborate architectural features. Look closely, and you'll notice the repetitive motifs and symmetrical arrangements, perhaps hinting at the social values of order, balance, and status that these gates were intended to embody. These drawings speak to a long history of architectural representation, but also to the labor and skill involved in translating ideas into built form. They remind us that even the most seemingly straightforward drawing is the product of immense artistic effort and tradition. Considering the history and intention behind the image, the divisions between art, craft, design, and architecture begin to dissolve.