Design for "Les Heures d'Après Midi" by Emile Verhaeren 1896 - 1910

Julia Eyckholt made this book design, Design for "Les Heures d'Après Midi" by Emile Verhaeren, with watercolor, graphite, and colored pencil. The soft colors give it a feeling like you're looking at something from a long time ago. It's neat to think about how making art is like having a conversation with other artists across time. The surface has these delicate roses, almost like a whisper on the page. Look at the little circle of roses on the left side. The lines are so fine, it’s as if she barely touched the paper. It feels very intentional, as if she's thought about the balance between the flowers on one side and the text on the other. The muted tones create a quiet, contemplative mood, like a rainy afternoon. It reminds me a bit of Hilma af Klint, not in style, but in the way both artists explore the intersection of art and text. Like Klint, Eyckholt embraces a kind of ambiguity. This piece invites us to linger, to wonder, and to find our own meanings in the delicate lines and subtle washes of color.