The Wren and the Bear

The Wren and the Bear by Arthur Rackham (British, 1867–1939)

Medium

brush and black ink and pen and black ink, with watercolor, on paper

Dimensions

{"sheet":{"height":0.367,"width":0.258}}

Classification

Drawing

Department

Drawings

Museum

Cleveland Museum of Art

Credit

Gift of Mrs. Ralph Perkins in memory of Coburn Haskell

Accession Number

1946.8

Tags

male

About this artwork

The battle depicted here between flying and land animals is from the fairy tale “The Wren and the Bear.” The bear insults the wren, the king of the birds, leading to a war. Most of Arthur Rackham’s best-known illustrations combine intricate line work with delicate coloring. However, he also produced some silhouette illustrations like this one, created for a luxury edition of Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm. The illustration won a gold medal at the 1906 Milan International Exhibition, where it ...

    Send Feedback

    We use this only to reply to your feedback.