De hengstenleider 1931

This lithograph, "De hengstenleider," or "The Stallion Leader," was made by Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst. I’m wondering what it was like to make this work. Holst seems to have been interested in the play of light and shadow on the figure’s face. See how the light glints across his brow and cheekbone? What does that reveal? The man’s gaze is directed slightly off to the side, as if lost in thought, or perhaps he sees something that the artist, and we, cannot. It's like the artist has captured a fleeting moment of contemplation. The figure seems solid, monumental, and a bit mysterious. Holst has managed to make something that feels both real and symbolic at the same time. And in this, we are all connected, in an ongoing dance of seeing and making, with each of us adding our own brushstrokes to the ever-evolving canvas of art history.