Getal 6 1904

Reinier Willem Petrus de Vries made this small drawing, Getal 6, using pen on paper. It's a study in contrasts, not just in black and white, but in how the solid darks give shape to the airy lightness around them. The mark-making is so deliberate, each stroke seems to build on the last, spiraling inward like a focused meditation. You can feel the artist's hand, patiently outlining and filling in the spaces. Look at the texture, the way the pen strokes create subtle variations within the solid areas. It's almost like the ink itself has a personality, pooling and drying in its own way. The spiral form, with its little dot-like accents, draws you in, creating movement with simple shapes. This piece reminds me a bit of Hilma af Klint’s early diagrams, but it also stands alone as a unique exploration of form and negative space. It makes you think about how the simplest elements can create something complex and beautiful, it's a conversation with shapes and lines, echoing through time.