RICHARD N. ROLAND HOLST (1868-1938) LUCIFER / TREURSPEL VAN VONDEL. 1910. 48 3/4x29 3/4 inches, 123 3/4x75 1/2 cm. Tresling & Co., Amsterdam. Condition B: small losses and replaced losses, repaired tears, staining and pin holes in margins; small stains in image; toned overall; two-sheets. Roland Holst, who became the director of the Rijks Akademie, was a champion of Art Nouveau in his native Holland, where he worked in many different artistic genres. Throughout his oeuvre "he executed only 16 posters, nine of the most brilliant being for the theatre, where he often designed stage sets and costumes. The extremely rare Lucifer is considered the artist's masterwork and was personally printed by him. . . . Here we see the fallen archangel Lucifer creating the rift between good and evil. The poster is full of restraint. The structure is symmetrical and extremely simple. The color scheme is limited to two colors, yet achieves an incredible richness through patterning reminiscent of Indonesian motifs (Java was a Dutch colony at the time). The white of the columns contrasts starkly with the black void engulfing Lucifer. In its somber simplicity, Roland Holst has created a work of explosive power" (International Poster). Weill 152, Art Nouveau p. 177, Encyclopedie de l'Affiche p. 264, Dutch Poster 119.
