Leeuw en leeuwin 1917

This print, Leeuw en leeuwin, by Bernard Willem Wierink, pictures a lion and lioness in muted tones of ochre, brown and grey. I can imagine the artist layering those colored pencils, one on top of the other, gently building up the forms. It’s really about the push and pull between realism and representation. I’m thinking about what Wierink might have been considering as he made this. You can feel his hand in the marks, the texture of the colored pencil. I'm also wondering about the year in which it was created, 1917, when the world was in turmoil. Perhaps this piece was an attempt to find stability, representing these strong, majestic animals. This reminds me of other artists throughout history who have turned to the animal kingdom as a way of exploring themes like power, nature, and survival. It’s like we’re all in this big, ongoing conversation, borrowing and riffing off each other's ideas. It's an exchange of ideas across time. I see it as a way of understanding the world and the things that really matter.