Henri van de Velde (1898). Tropon [color lithograph]. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

Non-objective abstraction applies; the most recognizable objects are the letters. The dense curvilinear forms bracketed by the words roughly repeat in their meandering nature, loops, contrast and variation in speed with just enough variation to give them unique and individualized character. They bind and illustrate the differences between the orange lobes above and white space below, spanned by a field of yellow, creating a lively, playful nature between the different areas. By placing tiny, perfectly circular points within the horizontal flow of the subject, Velde has emphasized its organic tone. There is absolutely no reference to the observer; how can this work be regarded as anything other than conceptual? 
A particular strength of this work is how subject and curvature blend into composition-defining angularity. While many works that define their edges with solid strokes do so in a way that is either obvious or distracting, neither is the case in this example. Areas of static and potentially distracting space are filled with wafer-thin and perpendicularly angled strokes with consistent margins between them. The outcome is a texturing effect that supports the decorative pictorial depth of this composition by creating a subtle spatial relationship between it, the text, and the swan-like subject pattern. 
The subject and framing strategy merge holistically to maintain interest in a repeating, graceful pattern always within the composition. The gestalt-based pictorial depth Velde has developed organically supports this sense of motion, a masterful compositional choice due to how it supports its sense of order. Velde’s distribution of value, conflict in complementary color, and tension between motion and pictorial order represent balance in the classical sense. One measure he’s used that contradicts this is an arguable over-reliance on bright, exhausting color.