Ontwerp voor raam in het Noordertransept in de Dom te Utrecht c. 1934

This is Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst’s design for a window in the North transept of the Dom Church in Utrecht, made with chalk and graphite. You can really see the hand of the artist in the marks that make up the image, the hatching, the erasures, like Holst is thinking through the image right there on the paper. Look at how the texture of the chalk creates a kind of shadowy depth, especially in the darker areas. It’s almost architectural in its weightiness, even though it’s just a sketch on paper. Notice the red triangle in the bottom left, a bold splash of color amidst the otherwise somber tones; like a little spark of energy. It reminds me a bit of some of the German Expressionist stained glass, like Lyonel Feininger, where the fractured forms create this feeling of both grandeur and unease. Ultimately, this drawing is a space of possibility, a reminder that art is as much about the process of making as it is about the final result.