Achterzijde van een bankbiljet van vijfentwintig gulden c. 1910 - 1915

This is Pieter Dupont’s design for the back of a twenty-five gulden banknote. It’s a tightly designed drawing with great precision and I can imagine the artist hunched over his table, working with a magnifying glass! There’s a kind of symmetry at play, and the way he’s rendered the decorative motifs makes me think of patterns on a Persian carpet or the details on a piece of baroque furniture. The ink is applied in varying thicknesses, almost as if Dupont were modelling with the chiaroscuro effect; and the colour—this subdued palette—gives the banknote an understated elegance. I bet he had to consider how his design would resist counterfeiting, how the lines and shapes would foil any would-be forger. It's a dance between artistry and utility, and it reminds us that even the most functional objects can be infused with beauty and imagination. I feel like it has the same spirit as the work of graphic designers like Alvin Lustig.