Ontwerp voor een titelhoofd van maandschrift 'De vrouw en haar huis' 1897

Reinier Willem Petrus de Vries made this design for the masthead of the monthly magazine 'De vrouw en haar huis' – 'The Woman and Her Home' – using pencil and ink on paper. Look closely, and you'll see the grid that underlies the composition. This mechanical aid declares that this isn't just an artwork, but a proto-industrial design. The crisp lines and stylized figure, perhaps an Egyptian queen, suggest the controlled precision of the Art Deco style. Magazines like 'De vrouw en haar huis' were a product of new printing technologies and mass media. This drawing provides a glimpse into how design was harnessed in the service of creating a modern, consumerist culture. Even a seemingly simple sketch like this one reveals the interplay between artistic vision, mechanical production, and the circulation of images in the modern world. It encourages us to see the value in all forms of making.