Omslag van: De dierenvriend. Geïllustreerd tijdschrift voor dierenvrienden, october 1907 1907

Reinier Willem Petrus de Vries made this cover for "The Animal Friend," an illustrated magazine for animal lovers, in October 1907. It’s a lithograph, so the process is key; everything starts from a flat stone! The limited palette of blue-gray against the beige of the paper feels very of its time, but also timeless. Look how the animals, cat, dogs, and birds, are formalized into decorative elements. Their shapes are simplified, almost stencil-like, which flattens them and makes them part of a larger ornamental pattern. These symmetrical shapes and patterns give the image a calm, stable feeling. I love the curly flourishes around the title, which feel a bit like Art Nouveau but also suggest movement and growth, like vines or feathers. This piece reminds me of the work of Hilma af Klint, who also used stylized imagery and symmetrical design to create a sense of deeper meaning. It’s like the artist is trying to capture something essential about our relationship with the animal world.