Geboorte van Venus 1924

Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst made this print of the Birth of Venus, but when? I don't know! The limited palette of greens and creams feels very deliberate, like Holst is interested in setting a mood, more than illustrating a scene. The materiality here is all about the surface – the way the ink sits on the page. Look closely, and you can see the texture of the paper coming through. I love the way the crisp lines of Venus herself contrast with the loose, almost chaotic marks that make up the waves around her. It's like she's emerging from a dream, or maybe a nightmare. This feels like a close cousin to some of the symbolist work being made around the turn of the century, like maybe Edvard Munch. But Holst has his own thing going on, a kind of quiet intensity that I find really compelling. It reminds us that art is a conversation, a constant back-and-forth between artists across time.