Vignet met bloemen 1884 - 1952

Reinier Willem Petrus de Vries made this tiny Vignet met bloemen, or vignette with flowers, at some point, we don't know when. It's all about the ink here, and the controlled, almost graphic way the image is put together. You can see the texture of the paper, which gives the stark black ink something to grab onto. The dots in the negative space, and the bold line work create a real sense of depth. I'm really taken by the central flower, how the leaves below become a kind of pedestal, almost like a crown. It makes me think of the work of artists like Hilma af Klint, who were exploring mystical ideas through abstract forms. De Vries’ flower study is a reminder that art is an ongoing conversation, where artists borrow, steal, and transform ideas across time. Art doesn't have fixed meanings. Instead, it embraces ambiguity.