Prentbriefkaart aan anoniem 1878 - 1938

Editor: Okay, let's dive in. We’re looking at a postcard titled "Prentbriefkaart aan anoniem", attributed to Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst, placing it sometime between 1878 and 1938. It reproduces what looks like a section of the Bayeux Tapestry. What immediately strikes me is the medieval, almost cartoonish depiction of William's army marching, yet there’s also a certain weight to the scene. It speaks to history, conquest... What do you make of it? Curator: Absolutely, a slice of the Bayeux Tapestry! Now, isn't it curious how such a crucial historical event—William's march—is immortalized in what’s essentially very detailed embroidery? Imagine someone documenting a world war through, say, needlepoint today. It’s this tactile, almost domestic medium used to depict a violent clash of civilizations that tickles my fancy! What feelings are evoked? And is this Roland Holst print simply a copy, or is there a commentary embedded within it, a layer added by him? Editor: I hadn't thought about it that way – a domestic medium for a very undomestic event. So, do you think Roland Holst is adding a layer of interpretation with this print? What kind of commentary could he be making? Curator: Maybe he’s playfully subverting the epic scale, rendering it manageable, a memento. Notice the rigid lines and deliberately primitive drawing... almost as if filtered through the eyes of someone distant. Is it admiration or perhaps a gentle mocking of the heroic narratives from our past? Maybe it suggests these grand stories eventually get miniaturized, flattened. It asks us: does simplification distort the truth, or preserve it? Editor: That's fascinating. The idea that simplification both preserves and distorts at the same time. Curator: Exactly! It’s in the seeing, the pondering that beauty happens, doesn't it? Roland Holst offers more questions than answers in what seems, at first glance, to be a mere postcard. Editor: I'll definitely be looking at historical art through a different lens now, thank you. Curator: My pleasure. A postcard – a tiny echo of an epic saga!