Vliegenvangertje before 1893

Curator: "Vliegenvangertje," or "Flycatcher," is an ink drawing created with pen by Willem Wenckebach. We estimate its creation occurred before 1893. Editor: It's delicate! Those fine lines... It feels almost like peering into a botanist’s private sketchbook, capturing some fascinating organic form. Curator: The Rijksmuseum, where this piece resides, indeed categorizes it as such. Wenckebach's choice to depict the sundew plant in this manner echoes its inherent duality. The sundew, beautiful yet predatory... Editor: Right? There's a subtle macabre undercurrent humming beneath the dainty lines. The plant appears quite serene and poised in a childish way, yet, each leaf ends in what appear like open hungry mouths. Curator: It is, after all, an exercise in trapping. It’s a silent drama played out on a miniature stage. Flies represent fleeting desires and this plant represents entrapment in our very human quest to get things and have them. Editor: Makes you wonder what flies represented for Wenckebach himself. Perhaps something irritating, worth ensnaring on paper through obsessive mark-making? Did it bring him some sort of release to repeatedly stab these images on paper? It would me. Curator: It does spark speculation, doesn’t it? This personal symbolism links Wenckebach to a larger exploration of morality and the allure of the forbidden, but it remains quite personal and not overtly dogmatic. Editor: More like a wry observation. "Oh look," he seems to say, "another tiny tragedy unfolding, the pretty plant lures them with the false hope of sustenance... fascinating!" There is something ironic and detached in the way he renders his strokes to build this image. Curator: Absolutely. Thank you, Editor, for offering your unique view! I always appreciate hearing a fresh, personalized read, contrasting the broader symbolism in artwork analysis. Editor: The pleasure is all mine! And I, in turn, am grateful to have a richer grasp of Wenckebach's Flycatcher now!