Cirkel met bladeren en heilige harten 1895

This is Mathieu Lauweriks' "Circle with Leaves and Sacred Hearts," a print made using an unconfirmed medium, back in 1895. Lauweriks was a Dutch architect, designer, and mystic whose spiritual beliefs deeply influenced his work. Look closely, and you will notice the interplay of geometric shapes and organic forms. The sacred hearts and leaves are enclosed within a perfect circle, set against a background of stars and triangles. This reveals Lauweriks’s integration of nature, spirituality, and geometry. Although his art was rooted in the aesthetic and philosophical principles of theosophy, his stylized patterns and symbolic motifs offered an alternative to the traditional, more literal, depictions of nature. Instead, Lauweriks seeks to express deeper, universal truths through the harmony of design and the symbolism of sacred imagery. Consider how the emotional weight of religious symbols combines with the calm, grounding presence of leaves. The artist invites us to contemplate the intersection of the sacred and the natural.