Ornamenten met gevlochten lijnen 1884 - 1952

Reinier Willem Petrus de Vries made this drawing of interwoven ornaments, probably on paper, and possibly with ink. It’s all about the process of repetition, where the same motif is reworked and reconfigured over and over again. The drawing has these interwoven lines in a pale blue, almost grey ink, which contrast with the grid of the paper. The grid gives a feeling of flatness, but the pattern feels like it wants to pop out into three dimensions. Look at the ways the artist has varied the pattern, and made subtle changes as they’ve moved down the page. That little diamond shape with the four dots, repeated within the larger diamond pattern, I love that. It’s so simple, so unassuming, but it gives the whole drawing a bit of solidity. This reminds me of some of the pattern drawings of Hilma af Klint, but with a much more grounded, graphic sensibility. It’s like de Vries is riffing on an ancient Celtic knot, but in a very modern, almost minimalist way.