Two Lionesses Resting; verso: Head of a Tiger after 1848

Curator: Antoine Louis Barye, born in 1795, created this black chalk drawing called "Two Lionesses Resting; verso: Head of a Tiger." It's currently housed at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: They look so peaceful! There’s a lazy, almost sleepy energy radiating from this sketch. Curator: Consider the broader colonial context. Barye and his contemporaries were fascinated by the "Orient," often exoticizing and objectifying animals like these lionesses. Editor: Hmm, you’re right. I was seeing simple rest, but it's also a portrait, a capture, within those power dynamics. Did he ever see them in the wild, I wonder? Curator: Barye did visit zoos to sketch animals. His work contributes to a complex dialogue about humanity's relationship with the natural world. Editor: I think there is something touching in his rendering of their vulnerability, even if it's complicated by the history. It sparks a sort of empathetic recognition within me. Curator: Indeed, it highlights the nuanced ways in which art can simultaneously reflect and challenge prevailing ideologies. Editor: Makes you think about what we bring to a piece, doesn’t it?