Band met een floraal motief c. 1901

Curator: It’s almost like a secret whispered from the past. Gerrit Willem Dijsselhof created this "Band met een floraal motief", a drawing rendered in pencil, around 1901. We're lucky enough to have it here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: Oh, I see it now. It's surprisingly delicate, given the geometric framework around the floral shapes. A sort of stylized vine trapped in triangles. It feels almost... constricting, yet aspiring. Curator: Dijsselhof was deeply involved in the Art Nouveau movement. These clean lines and the stylised floral elements were intended for something else, as part of a larger decorative scheme for the public or private sphere. This is why these "sketches" became part of public collections like ours, revealing insights on design methodology. Editor: It's interesting you mention “public.” These sketchbook peeks, for me, feel almost aggressively private. It is tempting to psychoanalyze. What’s up with the way these elegant curves fight against those oppressive, if clean, angular constraints? The central flourish, nearly symmetrical, tries to reconcile these elements… Maybe I’m reading too much into it? Curator: Not at all. Art Nouveau often explored such tensions: the beauty of nature versus the rigidity of industrial society. It can be found throughout Dijsselhof's work as well, where, instead of making them clash, Dijsselhof creates rhythm with those seemingly competing entities to generate overall harmony. Editor: I do like the repetition of these forms. A wallpaper perhaps? Something that takes its cues from the natural world yet imposes the grid of human intent on it. Is it beauty or is it control? Both, maybe. Curator: I feel this connects to Dijsselhof’s contribution to reforming the public aesthetic of his time, and what’s even more fascinating, is to realize the influence such patterns had for graphic and product designs later in the 20th century. A humble study for something truly remarkable. Editor: A lot more going on under the surface than I initially thought. Makes you wonder about all the sketches hidden in sketchbooks still waiting to be found.