Pyramus en Thisbe 1512 - 1560

This is Heinrich Aldegrever's engraving "Pyramus and Thisbe," now at the Rijksmuseum, capturing a tragic moment from Ovid's "Metamorphoses." Here, we see Thisbe discovering Pyramus's lifeless body. Note the tomb, a classical symbol of remembrance and mourning. The ill-fated lovers and the tomb bring to mind similar scenes across art history, echoing in countless depictions of grief and loss. The lioness, tearing the veil, recalls archaic symbols of untamed nature and fate. This motif—the beast, the torn fabric—reappears through the ages in varied guises. It resurfaces in the Renaissance allegories of virtue and vice, where animals often represent the untamed passions threatening human reason. The collective memory of such imagery evokes a powerful emotional response, engaging our subconscious understanding of tragedy and fate. This symbol persists, evolving in meaning, yet always resonating with primal human fears and desires, in a cyclical return of the image.