Lion Devouring a Boar c. 1865

Curator: Antoine Louis Barye, a 19th-century French sculptor, rendered "Lion Devouring a Boar." It's a bronze piece at the Harvard Art Museums. Quite visceral, wouldn't you say? Editor: Oh, absolutely—there's this immediate sense of raw power. The lion's form, so compact and coiled, is pure predatory intent. Curator: It's a compelling image of nature red in tooth and claw, certainly. Lions, throughout history, are emblems of courage and strength, but here, there's a palpable aggression. Editor: Right, and the boar—it's not just prey; it's a symbol of wildness being violently subdued. There’s this primal struggle playing out on a small scale. Curator: Precisely. Barye captures that tension, that dominance, so intensely. The struggle is frozen in time. Editor: Makes you think about your place in the food chain, doesn’t it? Curator: Indeed. An enduring motif, brutally rendered. Editor: Well, it's certainly made me consider my next snack.