Ontwerp voor de tekst van een oorkonde voor J.W. Enschedé 1915

This design for the text of a charter for J.W. Enschedé was made by Reinier Willem Petrus de Vries, probably in pencil, sometime around 1915. The thing that strikes me about this piece is the way it's clearly a draft, complete with all the guidelines and planning marks, but also feels incredibly resolved. The precision of the lettering is compelling. Look closely, and you can see these very controlled, but also very free-feeling marks. This speaks to me of art-making as a process of constant negotiation. The texture of the paper and the variations in the pencil strokes give it a real sense of presence. This piece reminds me a little of the work of Agnes Martin, in the sense that both artists find a kind of profound beauty in simplicity and restraint. But where Martin is all about perfection and precision, this drawing feels a bit more loose, a bit more open to chance. Ultimately, art is about embracing ambiguity and exploring the many different ways of seeing and experiencing the world.