Ontwerp voor een glas-in-loodraam met als thema 'De Vrede' 1923 - 1924

Antoon Derkinderen made this design for a stained-glass window on March 29th, 1924. Looking at it, I’m struck by the quiet confidence of the pencil lines, carefully mapping out a composition around the theme of ‘De Vrede’—peace. It's all about line and structure, isn't it? It's like he’s thinking through the architectural possibilities of the glass itself. Look closely, you can almost feel the weight of the lead that would hold these colored fragments together. It’s a dance between intention and process, where the design embraces the limitations of the material. This piece makes me think of Klimt, another artist who knew how to charge the decorative with a kind of transcendental energy. But here, in Derkinderen's design, there’s a quiet restraint, a humble acceptance of the grid as a place of contemplation. Art reminds us that meaning isn't always something we arrive at, but something we discover through the act of making itself.