The Ass in the Lion’s Skin 1908

Walter Crane created this image, ‘The Ass in the Lion’s Skin’, using line drawing and watercolor. The delicate pastel hues of blues and oranges, ochres and greens, create a theatrical space for the drama to unfold. I like to imagine Crane hunched over his drawing board, carefully outlining the figures with a fine nib pen, then dabbing at the paper with washes of color. What was he thinking as he painted the donkey awkwardly draped in the lion’s skin, that the poor creature just wants to blend in? How it reflects the human desire to be something we're not? The way the figures are arranged, almost like a stage set, remind me of Aubrey Beardsley. There’s a feeling of lightness here, a kind of joyful simplicity. He reminds us that art is a conversation across time, an exchange of ideas that can be both serious and playful. Crane invites us to embrace the ambiguity, to find our own meaning in the story he's telling.