Titelvignet met beer en wolven c. 1910

This vignette with a bear and wolves was made by Bernard Willem Wierink, though the date remains unknown. The limited palette and muted, earthy tones seem to seep from the paper itself, don’t they? I imagine Wierink bent over his desk, the image slowly revealing itself through trial and error. I wonder if he was thinking about power when he made it? I imagine the bear in the middle is powerful, a king perhaps, with the wolves acting as his loyal and strong subjects. I love the way Wierink used these animals as symbols to explore ideas about community and hierarchy. It reminds me that all artists, even those from different times, are in constant conversation, sharing and building on each other's ideas. What do you make of it?