Zeewolf op de bodem van een aquarium 1883

Willem Witsen made this watercolor of a Zeewolf, or ocean catfish, at an unknown date, now held at the Rijksmuseum. The fish is arranged on the picture plane so that its bulky head is thrust towards us, while its attenuated body stretches back into the picture space. The sandy and rocky aquarium floor establishes a shallow depth. We are offered a close, confrontational view. Witsen destabilizes our expectations with the intense focus on the grotesque features of the fish. Its almost human-like face, complete with a frown and menacing teeth, challenges conventional notions of beauty and the picturesque in art. The careful attention to texture in the fish's skin and the rough aquarium floor underscores a commitment to realism. The artist compels us to question our aesthetic values. Is there beauty in the mundane and the strange?