Illustration XIII 15th-16th century

Editor: This is Illustration XIII by an anonymous artist, housed at the Harvard Art Museums. It looks like a woodcut, depicting four regal lions. The scene has a strangely unsettling, almost medieval quality. What do you make of this curious image? Curator: It feels like a symbolic emblem, doesn't it? The crowned lion atop the hill, overseeing the others… It suggests a hierarchy, a kingdom perhaps. Notice the tongue! What could it symbolize? Editor: Maybe speech, power? Or perhaps, simply, the grotesque? Curator: Maybe all of the above! It’s a potent image, ripe with possibilities. I'm left wondering about the story behind this illustration. Editor: I love that this small image can hold so many interpretations.