Kop van een omhoog kijkende man 1903

Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst made this drawing of a man's head in 1903, using pencil and crayon. It's a simple sketch, really, but what might this upward gaze signify? Holst was very interested in the socialist movement in the Netherlands, and this image could be about the rise of the common man and the new hope that socialism offered. The image creates meaning through the upward direction of the man's gaze, a visual code suggesting hope. The man's simple cap and clothing place him firmly in the working class. Holst was very involved in the artistic and political culture of his time, and we might look at publications such as "De Nieuwe Amsterdammer" to find references to the kind of politics Holst engaged in. Art historians look at a range of sources to understand the meaning of art as something related to social and institutional contexts.