Bandontwerp voor: P.G. Buekers, Onze vogels, 1900 1900

This is Reinier Willem Petrus de Vries’s design for P.G. Buekers’s book, ‘Our Birds’, made around 1900 with graphite on paper. The design gives us an interesting lens through which to view the cultural values of the era. During this time, there was a growing interest in nature and the environment. But we must consider how the representation of nature, like this heron, was often filtered through a colonial lens. As an artist, De Vries would have been influenced by the prevalent artistic movements of his time, including Art Nouveau, visible here in the stylised elements, while also reflecting broader societal attitudes towards nature and conservation. The elegant, elongated form of the heron, combined with the geometric borders, reflects the aesthetic sensibilities of the period, but also prompts us to think about the relationship between humans and the natural world.