Banden met decoratieve motieven c. 1901

Here are decorative band designs on paper by Gerrit Willem Dijsselhof. It looks like a sketch, a preparation for something else, but I think it stands alone. These marks are really about the process of exploring form. I am interested in the way the drawings feel both organic and highly stylized at the same time. There is a loose, free quality to the lines, but they are also controlled and precise. I love the texture that comes from the graphite on paper. Look at the plant-like forms in the right band. See how Dijsselhof varies the pressure of his pencil to create depth and shadow? It makes me think of the Symbolists, especially someone like Odilon Redon, who was also deeply interested in interior, imagined worlds. I think of it as art with a big question mark, not a full stop.