Harpy Eagle, Bernard Willem Wierink, 1902

black chalk, with watercolour, heightened with white, on brown paper,, h 290mm × w 130mm More details

Like his teacher August Allebé, Bernard Willem Wierink went to Artis Zoo almost daily to sketch all kinds of animals. According to him, the beauty of nature was not solely to be found in a bird of paradise, but also in less attractive animals, such as this ill-tempered looking harpy eagle. The manner in which he drew the lines – first sketchily, and then with greater control and even stylized – is typical of his book illustrations.