Rond ornament met blad- en vlindermotief 1884 - 1952

Editor: Here we have a "Round Ornament with Leaf and Butterfly Motif," a pencil drawing created sometime between 1884 and 1952 by Reinier Willem Petrus de Vries. It has a distinctly unfinished quality; seeing the construction lines underneath lends this geometric foundation bare to see, what is there even if unseen. What jumps out at you? Curator: Oh, that 'unfinished quality,' as you call it, *is* the finish! For me, the visible geometry isn't just structure; it’s the spirit itself taking form, butterfly and foliage emerging not from chaos, but a perfectly ordered whisper of creation! It feels like watching an idea blossom, tentative and yet full of potential. Does the butterfly seem trapped to you, or just pausing in its flight? Editor: I hadn't considered that – it did seem a bit caged by the ornament! So, the geometry gives order, which allows the… blossom? I like that you mention potential. It sounds alive. What can you tell me about its relation to the Art Nouveau movement? Curator: Ah, Art Nouveau! It's all about celebrating the sinuous lines of nature, isn’t it? Imagine, back then, everyone’s sick of the industrial revolution and its cold metal reality. Artists suddenly remember that nature doesn’t make straight lines, then *bam*, vines crawl over everything. The rigidity of geometry is embraced but simultaneously softened here to frame, celebrate, and maybe even liberate the butterfly and leaf. Don't you find something very Dutch in it too – like a meticulously planned garden that's allowed to go just a *little* wild? Editor: That tension between order and wildness really clicks – seeing how carefully measured each line had to be. It has the structure before allowing natural ornament, so now that contrast tells a narrative I had not been conscious of earlier! Thank you. Curator: My pleasure entirely; and now *I* see it through your fresh eyes! That’s the joy of these old ornaments. Isn’t it great when art does that?