Ontwerp voor ex libris van W.C.Th. van der Schalk 1915

This design for a bookplate by Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst, likely made with ink and gouache, has such a cool, mysterious vibe. The process feels very deliberate, almost like carving or etching rather than painting, with these precise, economical marks. I'm drawn to the way the dark lines carve out the image of the dog, standing guard under the crescent moon. There's a sense of watchful stillness, a kind of protective energy, that radiates from the piece. The layering of the image within circles and the inscription lends a symbolic weightiness, like a talisman or emblem. It reminds me of the graphic sensibility of artists like Aubrey Beardsley, who were also interested in the expressive potential of line and the interplay of light and dark. It is a potent image, capturing both the beauty and complexity of art as an ongoing conversation.