Gestileerd dier met gekrulde staart 1884 - 1952

Reinier Willem Petrus de Vries made this Stylized Animal with a Curled Tail with pen and ink on paper, and I can't help but love it. It has such a sense of looseness, like he was just letting his hand wander across the page and seeing what emerged. The texture is so simple, really just the paper itself and these delicate, dark lines that give the piece definition. Look at the hatching on the body, how those marks curve and swell to suggest the form underneath. It's almost sculptural in its simplicity. The tail is the best part; a simple, elegant curl that brings a sense of playfulness to the whole thing. It reminds me of Picasso’s line drawings, that same economy of means and confidence in the line. But de Vries brings something all his own, something a little bit more earthy and organic. It's a reminder that art can be found in the simplest of gestures, in the movement of a hand across a page.