Ontwerp voor een vijfhoekig sluitvignet 1924

Editor: So this is "Ontwerp voor een vijfhoekig sluitvignet," a design for a pentagonal seal, made around 1924 by Reinier Willem Petrus de Vries. It's a pencil drawing, quite faint, and dominated by geometric forms. What jumps out at you? Curator: The formal rigor is immediately striking. Consider the paper itself: a plane meticulously subdivided. The artist employs delicate pencil lines to construct pentagonal shapes, establishing a clear geometric order. The composition rests upon the intrinsic relationship between line, shape, and the negative space they define. The very restraint becomes the work's defining characteristic, wouldn’t you agree? Editor: I see that now. It's like the lack of flourish becomes the flourish. But I'm curious about those faint internal figures within each pentagon – almost like ghostly faces. Curator: Precisely. They introduce an intriguing tension. While the external structure adheres to a rigid geometry, these internal figures disrupt that order. One might analyze them as a subtle rebellion against pure abstraction, suggesting the persistence of figuration even within the most rigorously controlled artistic environments. Do these interior images affect how you feel about the drawing, now? Editor: Definitely. I initially thought it was cold, but the subtle, human-like details add warmth. Curator: An astute observation. It demonstrates how a formalist approach doesn't preclude emotional engagement. It's about recognizing how those emotions are constructed through purely visual and material means. We are now better informed on the nature of form versus the form of nature, itself.