Ornamentontwerp c. 1901

This ornamental design on paper is by Gerrit Willem Dijsselhof and resides at the Rijksmuseum. Imagine Dijsselhof with a pencil in hand, leaning over this design. He's got a clear idea, but is still working it out. There's a confidence in those swirling lines, yet they overlap, searching for the right form. You can see the ghost of other shapes, decisions made and then unmade. Those circles at the bottom? They remind me of vine tendrils, reaching, grasping. There's a natural flow, like the growth of plants, but contained, controlled by the artist's hand. It's not just a sketch; it's a conversation, Dijsselhof working through an idea, a process of refinement. Artists build on each other, riffing on ideas, pushing them further. And it all starts with a line, a gesture, a mark on paper.