Liggende roerdomp 1892 - 1940

Henri Verstijnen made this lithograph of a bittern, a ‘Liggende roerdomp’, sometime between the late 19th and early 20th century. What I see is a flurry of black marks, quickly applied, to describe the speckled plumage of the bird, nestled amongst some reeds. I can imagine Verstijnen really observing his subject, and how much the image relies on this close looking. It feels as though he is right there, kneeling in the grass, watching this bittern go about its day. The bird almost disappears into the foliage, like a camouflaged Rothko painting! And that beak, pointing upwards, makes me think of a Cy Twombly scrawl. What is certain is the artist really knew his subject, showing its texture and form with very economic marks, and with great care. Every mark is a tiny act of translation, turning the three-dimensional bird into a two-dimensional image. It makes you wonder what other secrets this small print holds.