Henri Verstijnen was a Dutch artist and philosopher, active in the Art Nouveau movement. Born in Java in the Dutch Indies (present-day Indonesia), he took art lessons in Arnhem. He was initially active in ceramics, but eventually became known as an animal artist. He has lived in Gouda and Maastricht, before settling in The Hague. He became part of the "Haagse Kunstkring" and the painter's collective Pulchri Studio. His many paintings and drawings of flowers, birds and other, mainly exotic animals were exhibited on many occasions. He illustrated children's books like 'Kantjil' and 'Peter Pan', and was a contributor to De Groene Amsterdammer and Ons Eigen Tijdschrift, the children's magazine of the Van Houten chocolate factories. In the 1920s he published the comic strip 'Spitsmuis en Tapir' in Zonneschijn.