Letter B met stier 1639 - 1643

Editor: We're looking at "Letter B met stier" or "Letter B with bull," an engraving dating from around 1639-1643 by Claude Mellan, housed at the Rijksmuseum. It’s quite small and intricate, featuring a decorated letter B wrapped around a bull. I’m immediately struck by its detail. What catches your eye about this print? Curator: Oh, this little gem! I love the way Mellan coaxes life out of such precise lines. He marries the rigid structure of the letter with the organic form of the bull, and then softens it all with those playful baroque swirls framing the scene. For me, it speaks to a time when even the alphabet held the potential for delight. Ever thought about what "B" might mean with a bull attached to it? I imagine it stands for brawn. Editor: I hadn't considered the "B" for brawn. Is that combination a common trope, associating letters with… attributes? Curator: Mellan might have been onto something here! And it really makes you consider the cultural context too – the Baroque love for ornament and the fascination with classical forms. This piece isn’t just about pretty letters; it’s about wit, visual games, and a whole worldview. And think about what an engraver had to go through in order to create that: steady hands, artistic license and a lot of skill! Isn’t that wonderful? Editor: It is! I hadn’t thought of it as a "visual game" before, but that really resonates with the period's love of complexity and detail. Now, I appreciate the skill and historical playfulness behind it much more. Curator: Exactly. I always see it as an affirmation of art’s quiet power to turn the ordinary, like a letter of the alphabet, into something rather magical.