Portret van een vrouw 1897

Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst sketched this "Portret van een vrouw" with chalk on paper. It is a study in melancholy. The woman's gaze, averted and introspective, bears a striking resemblance to the ancient depictions of melancholia. We can trace the archetype back to classical antiquity, where Saturn, in his cold and heavy aspect, was believed to cast a pall over those inclined to deep thought and creativity. Consider Dürer’s "Melancholia I," where the winged figure sits amidst symbols of unfinished creation, weighed down by the burden of contemplation. Here, Roland Holst’s sitter shares this heavy-heartedness, her face a landscape of quiet sorrow, linking her to a long lineage of artistic and intellectual figures grappling with the weight of existence. The melancholic disposition, as a cultural and psychological phenomenon, echoes across time, finding new expression in each age. Each representation serves as a mirror reflecting our collective consciousness of loss and longing.