Kop van een Hollandse ooievaar 1876 - 1951

This is a pencil drawing of a stork’s head by Theo Nieuwenhuis, made sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. Look at the sketchy quality of the marks. I can imagine Nieuwenhuis rapidly capturing the essence of the bird with a few deft strokes, trying to figure out how to convey the texture of its feathers and the sharp angle of its beak. There's something so direct and immediate about it! Notice how the artist has used shading to give the stork's head volume and form? The beak is rendered with such precision, each line carefully placed to suggest its shape and texture. It's almost as if Nieuwenhuis is in conversation with the bird, trying to understand its essence through the act of drawing. Artists are always looking, observing and trying to work out how to capture the feeling of something, just like this.