Visarend vliegend boven een meer 1974

Hendrik J. Slijper made this image of an osprey flying over a lake with paint, but I don’t know when. What’s so compelling is how he creates the effect of movement with such static material. Look how the surface almost disappears! The paint is applied so thinly, so delicately, that it feels like you're looking directly at the scene. The detail in each feather shows a real care and attention to rendering the animal’s texture. The circular framing feels kind of arbitrary, almost like a test of his skills: can he capture the majesty of nature in this strange format? The brushstrokes around the bird’s head are soft and blurred, contrasting with the sharp, defined feathers of its wings. This difference gives the image a subtle depth, like the bird is both there and not there, a fleeting moment captured in paint. It makes me think of Audubon, but with a dreamier, more intimate touch. It invites us to consider the fragility and power of the natural world, and our relationship to it.