Skip to Main Content

The Wren and the Bear

1902
(British, 1867–1939)
England, early 20th Century
brush and wash
Sheet: 36.7 x 25.8 cm (14 7/16 x 10 3/16 in.)
Gift of Mrs. Ralph Perkins in memory of Coburn Haskell 1946.8
Location: not on view
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.

Download, Print and Share

Description

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 (see works nearby). 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 was exhibited as The Battle between the Air and the Earth.
The Wren and the Bear

The Wren and the Bear

1902

Arthur Rackham

(British, 1867–1939)
England, early 20th Century

See Also

Visually Similar Artworks

Contact us

The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, a detail image, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.