Reinaert buigt voor koning Nobel en de verzamelde dieren 1866 - 1939

Bernard Willem Wierink made this drawing of Reinaert the Fox bowing before King Nobel and his court, with pen and brush in brown and black ink, heightened with watercolour, at an unknown date. There is an illustrative flatness to the image, that makes me think about the artist and the decisions they were making. Was Wierink concerned with getting the likeness of the animals true to life, or were they instead thinking of the overall composition, the architecture of the piece? I imagine Wierink might have felt like they were directing a stage. What was it like to be so close to these animal characters, to feel their presence so strongly in the work? The lion seems both regal and strangely passive. The fox, ever cunning, feigns respect. It makes me want to think about the different ways stories are told through images. The image has a wonderful, playful energy that speaks to the enduring power of storytelling in art.