Ontwerp voor kostuum voor Apollo 1910 - 1918

This watercolor drawing, a costume design for Apollo, was created by Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst. Looking at it, I imagine Holst in his studio, hunched over his drawing table, carefully rendering each line and curve. There’s a graphic quality to this artwork that I find really appealing. The figure of Apollo is stylized, almost like a symbol. You can see how line dictates the shape of things, how it defines his drapery and musculature and implies the three-dimensionality of the figure. This reminds me of what Matisse said about drawing being like “taking a line for a walk.” The colour palette is limited—earthy greens and browns with touches of blue and white. It lends the piece a timeless quality, like it could be from any era. It makes me think about the enduring power of mythology. It's so cool how artists, like Holst, reach back into history and reimagine these stories for their own time. It shows you how we’re all connected in this long, ongoing conversation.