Roedel wolven jagend op schapen c. 1910

Curator: This pen and ink drawing from around 1910, housed here at the Rijksmuseum, is called "Wolves Hunting Sheep," attributed to Bernard Willem Wierink. Editor: It strikes me as incredibly illustrative, almost like a bookplate. The flowing lines have a sort of ferocious grace, even though it depicts a brutal chase. I feel the intensity in their hunt! Curator: Notice the interplay between art nouveau and narrative art here, how that stylistic flourish intersects with the somewhat harsh depiction of labor—a different type of labor when considering the livestock—all rendered in pen and ink on paper. Wierink’s choice emphasizes availability and accessibility. It democratizes the artistic gesture. Editor: Absolutely! The wolves aren’t just hunting, they’re performing! See how the landscape bends around their movement. There’s something romantic and terrifying at once, something beautiful in its brutality. Almost as if nature herself is both stage and predator. Curator: Well said, and considering its social context, it invites commentary on the labor put in, in turn revealing hierarchies—predator and prey as well as social inequalities inherent to the production and consumption cycle—represented in Wierink’s artful deployment of readily available resources like pen and ink to emphasize class dimensions. Editor: Which I think amplifies its impact, it's simple materials bringing the intensity! Makes you wonder what the artist intended, I mean a flock, almost overflowing— and this isn't just some bucolic scene but a dark commentary in those delicate lines. I imagine this drawn during harsh times... or, not necessarily harsh times per se, rather the harshness behind life no matter the times! Curator: A tension definitely worth exploring, acknowledging the class dynamics embedded within seemingly pastoral scenes. Editor: Makes you appreciate the dance, doesn't it? Between maker and matter. What else is waiting to surface from pen to paper?