Ontwerp voor ereteken voor trouwe dienst, Calvé, Delft 1924

This is Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst's "Ontwerp voor ereteken voor trouwe dienst, Calvé, Delft," a design made with what looks like pencil, ink, and watercolor. I love how the symmetry is a little wonky, giving it a handmade feel. You can just see the process of building up the image in the underdrawing. Holst’s color choices are really striking; the combination of red, black, and gold has a regal quality. Look at the figure in the center – probably Mercury – striding out with winged sandals. He's got this wonderful wreath of flowers, but it’s his sandals I can't stop looking at. They are just brilliant, bursting with energy. For me, it evokes the stylized Art Nouveau work of someone like Gustav Klimt. But Holst brings something of his own – a grounded, Dutch sensibility that feels so precise and thought out. Art is always a conversation, right?