Papegaai c. 1915 - 1919

Willem Witsen made this sketch of a parrot with a pencil on copper. Witsen was part of the Amsterdam Impressionism movement, capturing fleeting moments of everyday life, but he was also born into a wealthy family, which connected him to the Dutch colonial empire. The parrot, or "papegaai" in Dutch, brings up a complex history of global trade and colonialism. Parrots were often brought back to Europe as exotic pets, symbols of wealth and power. But what does it mean to bring a wild creature into a domestic setting? Who gets to decide what is "wild" and what is "tame?" Looking at this simple sketch, I think about the parrot itself, taken from its home, perhaps unable to communicate its distress. It becomes a reflection on the lives and histories that get erased or overlooked in the pursuit of beauty and status.