Ontwerp voor tekst Eerste Bedrijf met ornamenten 1908 - 1937

This book design with ornaments was made by Bernard Willem Wierink, probably with watercolour and ink. Imagine him at his desk, carefully inking each letter and decorative flourish, balancing precision with an expressive line. The script unfurls in ornamental turquoise lettering, evoking a medieval manuscript, while golden sunbursts frame bestial heraldry in medallions. The choice of colours – turquoise, gold, and soft parchment – creates a delicate, ethereal quality, like light filtering through stained glass. I wonder what Wierink was thinking as he painted each character of his text? Did he feel he was illuminating the page with each stroke? Did the marks feel more like drawing or writing? I imagine Wierink felt like an artist in conversation with the past and the future. As artists, we pick up the thread of art history and weave it into our own stories, our own experiences. We make it new again. We trust our intuition and let the painting guide us.