Joshua, David, and Judas Maccabee, from The Nine Heroes 1515 - 1525

Editor: This engraving, "Joshua, David, and Judas Maccabee, from The Nine Heroes," by Lucas van Leyden, dates back to between 1515 and 1525. It feels so intricately detailed, but also a bit…static, maybe? What do you see when you look at it? Curator: It’s tempting to see it as simply a historical depiction, but let’s consider the sociopolitical climate of the time. This was the early Renaissance, a period of massive upheaval challenging traditional hierarchies. Who were these figures, and why choose them? Editor: Well, they’re all Old Testament figures, right? Leaders and warriors…Joshua, David… Curator: Exactly. Consider the context. Van Leyden wasn’s just creating images, he was participating in a broader conversation about leadership and authority. Think about how the Holy Roman Empire was weakening, with debates swirling about power. These figures, then, weren’t just historical, but rather prototypes for imagining legitimate leadership. Editor: So, like, he’s using the past to comment on the present? Curator: Precisely! And the act of choosing them from scripture connects leadership directly with divine right and religious legitimacy. Why represent them on horseback? What message does that send? Editor: It feels like a statement about power and dominance, certainly. Curator: How might this print have circulated and who might it have influenced? What role might gender, race, and politics play in constructing how people understood this work during the Renaissance, and even today? Editor: That’s a lot to unpack. I guess I never really considered prints as anything beyond reproductions, but seeing it this way, it feels much more… alive. Curator: Exactly! Art doesn't exist in a vacuum; it's always in dialogue with the world around it. And now hopefully our listeners will agree.