Schrijvende monnik c. 1910

Bernard Willem Wierink made this drawing of a writing monk, on paper. Just imagine him there, drawing the monk writing, in his quiet cell. I wonder what Wierink was thinking? Was he pondering the role of art, of his art, in documenting life? There’s the Christ on the cross, a fox, a sailing boat... What is Wierink trying to convey here? The palette is muted, but the details feel considered, with the leaves, the roses, the soft light of the candle. It feels like a story, but one where the ending is uncertain. Maybe that’s the point, a question without an answer. I guess it’s up to us to decide what it means, and in a way, that makes us part of the conversation that Wierink started all those years ago.