Ontwerp voor raam in het Stadhuis in Amsterdam c. 1868 - 1938

Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst made this design for a stained-glass window with chalk, charcoal and pastel, probably imagining light flooding through it in the Amsterdam Town Hall. I wonder what it was like for the artist to compose this scene, perhaps inspired by the sea’s raw power, or the labour of those fishermen hauling the heavy nets. The way the figures are drawn is so interesting, they are solid, strong, and their dark outlines give them a monumental air. I love the netting, like a dark veil, it adds mystery and depth. The colours—earthy reds, greens, blues—are so evocative, aren’t they? I can imagine Holst making choices, adding more colour here, rubbing it back there, coaxing the composition into being. You can see echoes of artists like Fernand Léger in the geometric forms, but also something older, maybe medieval tapestries. Holst clearly draws on many sources. These artists are all in conversation, aren’t they? Passing ideas back and forth, across time. I imagine the design sparking a train of thought, leading somewhere unexpected. And maybe, if we let it, it can do the same for us too.