Hippopotamus and Crocodile Hunt c. 17th century

Curator: Here we have Willem Pietersz. de Leeuw's "Hippopotamus and Crocodile Hunt," a compelling image of humans battling the wilderness. Editor: It's so dynamic! The composition swirls around a central mass of struggling bodies, a real vortex of violence. Curator: Indeed. The hunt, of course, has been a symbolic representation of the human struggle against nature since antiquity, and that theme still resonates today. Editor: The dense hatching and cross-hatching create a palpable sense of weight and texture. Look at the musculature of the horses! Curator: Think of the hippo, the crocodile... They are powerful symbols of the untamed, forces that early societies had to literally overcome. Editor: Yet, there's a certain artifice, isn't there? The poses feel theatrical, almost staged, despite the chaos. Curator: Perhaps that tension is the point. Humans trying to impose order on primal forces. It’s a story we keep telling ourselves. Editor: A story rendered here with remarkable skill. It’s amazing how much drama de Leeuw could evoke with a relatively simple print.