Holy Spirit Church in Düsseldorf, design for the left side wall 1907

Koloman Moser dreamed up this design for the left side wall of the Holy Spirit Church in Düsseldorf with watercolour and pencil. Can you imagine him conjuring this space? The rhythmic windows and figures, rendered in flat, matte colour, are a vibe. There’s something both ancient and modern about the image. It’s like Byzantine frescoes meet early modern design. I wonder if Moser ever felt like he was in conversation with past artists, pulling and pushing at the traditions he inherited. Imagine him, brush in hand, considering how to make something new, how to bring his vision into being while honoring what came before. What did he think about when conceiving of these colour harmonies? Did he dream of stained glass? Painting, like any form of expression, is an ongoing conversation across time. It’s a way of seeing, thinking, and feeling that connects us to one another, in a space of ambiguity and possibility.