Lelie 1906 - 1945

Curator: So, here we have "Lelie", a drawing made with pencil on paper, sometime between 1906 and 1945. What are your first thoughts? Editor: It's really pared down. Almost just the ghost of a flower. What strikes me is its simplicity, like a quick sketch capturing just the essential forms of the lily. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Well, lilies, and flowers in general, have historically been loaded symbols. Think about their frequent use in religious iconography, often representing purity or even resurrection. Given that this drawing exists between 1906 and 1945, a turbulent period marked by two World Wars, what meanings could be teased out from such simple lines, from what is missing in the abstraction rather than its completeness? Editor: That’s interesting. So the fragility of the line work, paired with the lily, could be interpreted as a reflection on the precariousness of life during those times? Curator: Precisely! The abstraction pushes us to consider broader contexts: How do representations of nature shift during periods of intense social upheaval? Does simplifying the form serve as a form of resistance against the complexity and brutality of war? Or perhaps it represents the artist trying to find beauty amidst chaos, grasping at an ideal that seems to slip away? What do you think of its placement at the Rijksmuseum? Editor: It seems very pertinent. I hadn’t thought of the historical context so deeply, focusing on the aesthetics, but I can now see so many possibilities, like it acts as commentary during those years! It adds such depth. Thank you. Curator: Absolutely! Analyzing a work's formal elements through the lens of historical and social events allows us to consider power dynamics at play and decode potential commentaries from the artist. Always consider context!