Reinaert komt als pelgrim bij zijn vrouw Hermelijn 1866 - 1939

Curator: This watercolor drawing from between 1866 and 1939 by Bernard Willem Wierink is titled "Reinaert comes to his wife Hermelijn as a pilgrim". It's currently held here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: What a curious scene. There's something undeniably grim and tense about it, isn't there? It almost feels like I'm looking at a stage in a medieval morality play with this fox acting all pious. Curator: The work certainly seems to borrow heavily from the Northern Renaissance style. The flattened perspective and precise linearity used in the figuration highlight a clear focus on narrative. Note the intricate decorative borders filled with jewel-toned embellishments that frame the primary scene. Editor: It is a little like staring into some illuminated manuscript. That restricted palette of reds, blues, and earth tones really locks it into a historical aesthetic. Although the story playing out above feels incredibly cruel and calculated, as though the rabbit's demise has already been thoroughly strategized. Curator: Absolutely. The thematic treatment speaks volumes; observe how the central characters' gestures are strategically posed against the landscape's grey density to focus on the anthropomorphic fable unfolding within. One can surmise Wierink might have been drawn to such folkloric allegories to comment on the human condition itself, using animal characters to mirror and critique human behaviors or social dynamics of the period. Editor: It reminds me how easy it is to manipulate symbols of religion to cloak nasty intentions... or maybe it is a cautionary tale about how you should watch out for con artists and their tricks! Anyway, the visual contrasts of the jewel-toned details at the borders serve as an interesting complement to that intense moment depicted up top. Curator: I think both insights can coexist within the work's overarching structure. Looking closer at the interplay of color, one sees how these jewel-like points draw the eye along the edge. Editor: All in all, a vivid composition; Wierink truly has us consider how duplicity plays out between intention and representation.