Handtekeningenblad met zes rozetten voor een album voor Prof. Mr. L. den Hartog 1902

Reinier Willem Petrus de Vries made this signatures sheet with six rosettes, probably as a study for an album. It’s understated, I like that. There’s something satisfying about the way the golden pattern sits within the grid, like it’s testing out a repeat. The pale gold feels both modern and antique at the same time, as if it might be a print or block-print study. It's really simple, only pencil and a golden wash, and because of that the hand-made quality really shines through. Each rosette is slightly different, the hand wavers, a little thicker, a little thinner, and so it’s not perfect, but maybe that is perfect? I love the way the grid is visible underneath. You get the sense of the artist working through something in a methodical way. For me, the piece connects with Agnes Martin’s grids, they both create a space to think, to meditate, to allow ideas to emerge. Art, like life, being an ongoing experiment.