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Richard Roland Holst prints bring the clean lines and idealism of Dutch Symbolism and design into your home. Roland Holst was a painter, designer and writer who made posters, book covers, murals and stained glass windows, and who designed the catalogue cover for the first Van Gogh memorial exhibition in 1892. Our collection of fine art prints covers his early landscapes, designs for windows and murals, posters, covers and figure studies.

About Richard Roland Holst

Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst was born in Amsterdam on 4 December 1868, the son of a manufacturer and insurer. The poet Adriaan Roland Holst was his nephew. From 1885 to 1890 he studied at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam, where August Allebé was among his teachers.

In 1896 he married the poet Henriette van der Schalk, and the couple became committed socialists and close friends of the writer Herman Gorter. Roland Holst designed the typography and illustrations for his wife's books, as well as woodcuts and posters. Deeply influenced by William Morris, he believed art should serve the community, and he worked closely with architects, especially Hendrik Petrus Berlage. He painted murals for Berlage's Amsterdam Stock Exchange and for the headquarters of the General Diamond Workers' Union, and later for the Supreme Court in The Hague.

He went on to design stained glass windows for Amsterdam's city hall, the Dom church in Utrecht and Utrecht's main post office. From 1918 he taught at the Rijksakademie and was its director from 1926 to 1934. He also wrote widely about art, including books on Puvis de Chavannes and Jan Mankes. From about 1926 he lived with the artist Debora Duyvis. He died in Bloemendaal on 31 December 1938.

Style and Subjects

Roland Holst's mature work is Symbolist but restrained: flat, clearly outlined figures, calm rhythms and careful lettering, designed to sit within architecture or on the printed page. His mural and window designs show workers, allegories and saints in a dignified, monumental style.

His early drawings and paintings of the late 1880s and early 1890s are quite different: quiet landscapes of farms, willows, ponds and orchards, and studies of peasant women, made while he was still finding his way.

Famous Works

• Corner of a Pond near Breukelen (1888), Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. A quiet early landscape.
• A Farmer Walking along the Fringe of a Wood (1889), Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. A rural scene from his student years.
• Orchard at Eemnes (1891), Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Fruit trees in the Dutch countryside.
• Corner of a Garden with Nasturtiums (1891), Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. A bright, close-up garden study.
• Catalogue cover for the Vincent van Gogh exhibition (1892). His design for the first memorial exhibition of Van Gogh's work.
• Recollection (1913), Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. A later Symbolist work.
• Cover for Wendingen (1918). A cover design for the influential Amsterdam art and architecture magazine.
• Stained glass windows for the Dom, Utrecht, Dom church, Utrecht. Designs for the windows of the cathedral's transepts.

Decorating with Roland Holst Prints

Roland Holst's posters and covers, such as the Lucifer theatre poster, are great for a study, office or hallway, and suit modern and Arts and Crafts interiors alike. A group of his stained glass designs makes a strong, graphic gallery wall.

His early landscapes, like Orchard at Eemnes or the garden with nasturtiums, are gentler choices for a bedroom, kitchen or reading corner.

FAQ

What art movement was Richard Roland Holst part of?

He worked in a restrained Symbolist style and was a leading figure in Dutch community art, influenced by William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement.

Did Richard Roland Holst know Van Gogh's work?

Yes. He designed the catalogue cover for the 1892 exhibition of Van Gogh's work organised by Johanna van Gogh-Bonger.

Who was Henriette Roland Holst?

Henriette Roland Holst-van der Schalk was a well-known Dutch poet and socialist, his wife from 1896. He designed and illustrated her books.

Where can I see Roland Holst's work?

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam holds many of his drawings and paintings. His murals are in the Beurs van Berlage and the former Diamond Workers' Union building in Amsterdam, and his windows are in the Dom church in Utrecht.

Related Artists

• Jan Toorop: leading Dutch Symbolist of the same generation
• Antoon Derkinderen: Dutch community artist and fellow mural painter
• August Allebé: one of his teachers at the Rijksakademie
• Jan Veth: Dutch artist and writer of the same Amsterdam circle
• Pierre Puvis de Chavannes: French muralist he wrote two books about