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

Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst made this design for a stained-glass window in the Dom of Utrecht using chalk and watercolor. You can see how the colours and shapes are built up layer by layer. It’s all about the process, the slow evolution of an idea. Looking closely, you can see the texture of the paper coming through the chalk and watercolor. The marks are a little rough, a little uneven, but that's part of its charm. The brown and blue are earthy and deep, like looking into a shadowed space. The white mark in the upper right really pulls you in. What is it? A burst of light? A bird in flight? Holst reminds me a bit of Marsden Hartley, another artist who wasn't afraid to embrace ambiguity and let the materials speak for themselves. Ultimately, art isn't about having all the answers. It's about asking the right questions and leaving room for possibility.