Ex libris van Adriaan Roland Holst 1915 - 1916

This bookplate, made by Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst, probably with etching tools, is a small but mighty emblem of personal identity. There’s this beautiful dance between the solid blacks and the ghostly whites. The lines wiggle, alive and breathing, defining the void of the moon, and the solidity of the text. I love how the letters themselves become little abstract shapes, nestled within the circle, a testament to the tactile quality of language itself. You can imagine the artist carefully layering each mark. I keep thinking about Paula Modersohn-Becker, another artist who turned inward to express something profound. This bookplate, much like her self-portraits, invites us to consider the artist's hand, not as a tool of representation, but as a means of discovery. It reminds us that art is an ongoing conversation, a constant questioning, and a celebration of the beautiful ambiguity that makes life worth living.