Schets voor illustratie in Hoe de vogels aan een koning kwamen 1891

Theo van Hoytema created this sketch with pen, black ink, and watercolour on paper for an illustration in "Hoe de vogels aan een koning kwamen". Notice how the artwork teeters on the edge of abstraction, with Hoytema capturing the essence of the birds and the landscape through minimal lines and washes of colour. The composition is divided, with the majority of the birds clustered on the left, and the landscape elements sketched at the upper left. This separation, combined with the swiftness of the strokes, creates a sense of immediacy. The birds aren't portrayed as individual entities but as shapes indicating movement. He uses the pen to define forms, particularly in the birds' bodies, and the watercolor adds a sense of depth. In its incompleteness, the sketch reveals a structuralist approach, exposing the underlying framework of representation itself. The negative space around the birds and the landscape becomes as important as the drawn elements.