Studie van een duif before 1918

Willem Hendrik Bik etched this study of a dove, and what strikes me is its intimacy. Imagine Bik hunched over his plate, his eyes zeroing in on every feather, every contour of the bird's soft body. The lines are delicate but sure, capturing the fluffiness of the dove's plumage. The tones are warm sepias; look how they give a gentle glow to the bird’s chest. I can almost feel the texture of the paper, the slight resistance as Bik’s etching needle scratches across its surface. He’s not just recording what he sees, but feeling his way into the subject, making marks that breathe life into the bird, as if he's hoping to coax it into flight. It's a quiet act of observation and care, a reminder of the simple beauty that surrounds us. And it's part of a wider conversation that artists have been having across centuries.