Kop van een leeuw 1884

Gerard Jan Bos created this etching of a lion's head, sometime around the turn of the twentieth century in the Netherlands. Bos's choice of subject is interesting. Lions had been a popular subject in European art since antiquity, often associated with royalty, strength, and courage. In the late 19th century, as European powers were establishing colonies around the world, the lion became particularly associated with Imperial power, and with the idea of the 'civilizing mission'. But look at this lion. It doesn't roar, it doesn't threaten, it doesn't even look particularly majestic. Instead, it is captured in a moment of quiet repose. Bos seems to be playing on the symbolic associations of the animal, but also undermining them, and presenting the animal as an ordinary, living creature. Art historians delve into periodicals, exhibition reviews, and artists' personal papers to understand the networks and debates in which artists like Bos participated. This helps us to understand how they sought to challenge, reflect, and re-imagine the societies in which they lived.