Ontwerp met sierpatroon 1884 - 1952

Curator: This is "Ontwerp met sierpatroon," or "Design with ornamental pattern," attributed to Reinier Willem Petrus de Vries, dating from 1884 to 1952. The media consist of ink and pencil on paper. What are your first thoughts? Editor: It feels remarkably delicate. The thin lines and repeating curves give the impression of something meticulously crafted, almost textile-like. The use of just two colours gives a real impact. Curator: Precisely. The restrained palette of gold and blue highlights the essential forms. Consider the interplay between the linear structure and the organic flow. The circles, squares, and overall grid format provide an almost mathematical order that underpins the free flowing ornamentation, so characteristic of Art Nouveau. Editor: Thinking about the materiality and making process, the precision must have demanded incredible skill. The use of ink and pencil, humble materials really, for something aspiring to beauty suggests a desire to elevate craft to high art. Curator: It is interesting you pick up on the materials. One could certainly read the repetitive elements here as not only decorative, but indicative of an artistic engagement with emerging ideas about industrial design and repeatable components that informed functional structures. This period witnessed shifts in art and design towards ideas of total work or Gesamtkunstwerk and universal design. Editor: Absolutely, there is that dialogue between handmade care and machine production that so defines the period. The very grid this is all laid out upon indicates the intent that the motif could be repeatable and mass-produced. The real labour comes in with its detailed production. Curator: Indeed. The ornamental motifs, while seemingly abstract, do evoke plant-like forms and naturalistic motifs stylized through geometric abstraction which we see a great deal of at the time. The blue accents create points of focus. Editor: For me, reflecting on it, this work highlights the labour involved in decorative design while also hinting at its potential for broader application and use. Its beauty is found in its simplicity, as well as its underlying practicality. Curator: A perceptive material analysis, I must admit. It highlights how even a seemingly simple ornamental pattern encapsulates broader cultural and aesthetic shifts. Editor: Thank you. I leave with a renewed respect for the careful intention involved in the intersection of materials, work, art, and beauty!