Ontwerp voor raam in het Zuidertransept van de Dom te Utrecht 1878 - 1938

Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst made this design for a stained-glass window for the Utrecht Cathedral in the Netherlands, using chalk and graphite. Holst was a socialist artist, who believed that art had a public role. Here, he has designed a monumental image for a religious space. The face is divided into sections, as though it were already part of the leaded window. We know from historical sources that Holst was interested in medieval art and the way that it could convey spiritual meaning to a mass audience. Looking at the archives of the Utrecht Cathedral might tell us more about the subject of this window and how it relates to the building’s history. It’s likely that Holst wanted to connect contemporary Dutch society with its medieval past, using the cathedral as a public institution.