Ontwerp van de Sint Antonia Meisjesschool 1896 - 1917

Johannes Georg Jacobus van Arum designed the Sint Antonia Meisjesschool, and it’s rendered here in ink on paper. The drawing has the quality of an obsessive doodle. It really is as if the pen couldn’t be lifted from the page. Each brick is individually delineated, each window pane has its own reflection. There's a real pleasure in the repetition of form. I imagine van Arum bent over the page, gently coaxing this image into being. Look closely at the lower portion of the building, at the facade that appears to be made of stone. It’s rendered with a series of tiny, almost frantic marks. The texture is palpable; it feels as though you could reach out and touch the rough surface. And then above it, a smoother brick façade, where the lines are cleaner, more precise. It makes me think about what we value when we value the handmade. Sometimes it's the intricacy of a thing, and sometimes the human imperfection. I am reminded of Piranesi and his architectural fantasies. This piece really speaks to the possibilities of architecture as a kind of art form.