Albumblad voor een album voor Prof. Hugo de Vries 1918

This album page for Professor Hugo de Vries, was designed by Reinier Willem Petrus de Vries. The botanical style frame would have been carefully and methodically worked. I like to think of what the artist might have been thinking when they made this. The need for rational order and system perhaps, or love and respect for the natural world? De Vries has created perfect symmetry in this design, with space for images of noted botanists held within. The crisp edges and lines of the design contain a gentleness, reminding me of artists like Hilma af Klint, also working at the turn of the century. Artists are in an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time, inspiring one another’s creativity. This drawing is an expression that embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations.