De valkenier

De valkenier (The Falconer) by Bisschop from 1904 depicts a subject with deep roots in Dutch and Flemish art — the falconer, or hawker, belonged to an aristocratic tradition of hunting with birds that had been painted since the medieval period. Bisschop's treatment of the falconer in the early twentieth century represents a revival of a historical subject rather than a contemporary observation, and may reflect an interest in connecting his Frisian subject matter to the older traditions of northern European art. The Fries Museum holds this more unusual subject alongside his characteristic domestic and genre paintings.

Bisschop renders the falconer with the careful attention to period costume and equipment that a historical subject demands. The falcon — the compositional and narrative focus — is treated with particular precision. His handling of the figure's clothing and the bird's feathering shows the same meticulous observation he brought to Frisian domestic textiles and objects.