De Garde 1878 - 1938

Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst made this drawing, 'De Garde', with what looks like charcoal or graphite, smudging and layering to build up this intense character. I imagine Holst leaning in close, working back and forth, trying to capture something of the sitter’s inner life. There’s a real weight to those dark lines, a sense of gravity in the way the head is tilted. I wonder if he was thinking about the old masters, like Rembrandt, who also used light and shadow to such dramatic effect. That single stroke defining the cheek, it's so confident and sure, and yet the rest feels like it's been coaxed into being, emerging slowly through a process of trial and error. Holst is definitely part of an ongoing conversation among artists, riffing on ideas and techniques, pushing the boundaries of what drawing can do. It makes me wanna go straight back to my studio!