Grazend paard te Noordwijk 1893

Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst made this sketch of a grazing horse in Noordwijk using pencil, sometime around 1893. Holst, born in the Netherlands in 1868, was deeply engaged in the socialist movement and sought to express solidarity with the working class in his art. This sketch of a horse quietly grazing encapsulates a sense of the dignity and simplicity of labor. Horses, of course, were essential to the working infrastructure of the time, and the artist captures the animal in a moment of unassuming grace. Roland Holst’s political leanings may seem at odds with the more traditional subject matter of this sketch; however, the emotionality with which the horse is rendered, its quiet strength, presents the animal with respect and care, connecting it to the lives of the working class, and suggesting an alternative to more academic and traditional representations. The simplicity and intimacy of the work serve as a quiet meditation on the dignity found in everyday life.