Vrouw met hart en fakkel op vuurspuwende slang 1896 - 1941

Nicolaas van de Vecht made this work, "Vrouw met hart en fakkel op vuurspuwende slang" or "Woman with heart and torch on fire-breathing snake" using pencil and brush. Look at the intricate detail here, especially how the snake curves around the figure, its scales and the woman's hair both rendered with such care. I wonder about the artist's hand as he worked, the pressure and the rhythm of each stroke, each tiny mark building to create this really striking image. I imagine Van de Vecht wrestling with the composition, trying to balance the fantastical elements with the symbolic weight of the scene. What’s she thinking, this woman with the heart? What’s she fighting? There is a tension here, a sense of the artist working through something deeply personal. The work is in conversation with other symbolist artists like Odilon Redon, who explored similar themes of spirituality and the subconscious. It shows how artists engage with timeless ideas, reinterpreting them through their unique lens.