Ontwerp voor raam in het Noordertransept in de Dom te Utrecht c. 1934

Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst created this design for a stained-glass window in the north transept of the Dom Church in Utrecht, but the date of its creation is unknown. Holst’s work is interesting because it represents a complex negotiation between artistic innovation and institutional expectation. Here, he uses bold colors and simplified forms that hint at the modern art movements of the early 20th century, such as Expressionism. But the medium, stained glass, and the proposed location, a cathedral, root the work in a much older tradition of religious art, and a northern European tradition of church building, the visual codes of which would have been very familiar to the Dutch public. To fully appreciate this design, it’s important to research the history of the Dom Church itself, as well as the broader context of religious art in the Netherlands. Only then can we understand the push and pull between tradition and modernity that defines Holst’s vision.