They Fight! They Die! They spend their name on an ancient cry c. 20th century

Curator: Donald Handel’s etching, "They Fight! They Die! They spend their name on an ancient cry," is a small but incredibly dense piece held in the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: My first impression is that it looks like a fantastical world teeming with life and, dare I say, a bit of chaos. Curator: Absolutely, it’s a world of layered symbols. Look at how Handel uses the figure of the beast and the mass of bodies to convey struggle and the cyclical nature of conflict. Editor: Right, there’s this almost primal scene unfolding. The constant repetition of figures reminds me of ancient myths and creation stories—a world being born through conflict. Curator: Exactly! The title pulls us toward a kind of lament for that struggle, and the graphic style, almost frenetic, emphasizes that sense of urgency and timelessness. Editor: It’s a fascinating dance between macro and micro. The overall design has a clear structure, but up close, the details become almost overwhelming. I can feel the artist’s hand in every little line. Curator: Indeed, it is a visual poem, a cry frozen in ink and paper, echoing through the ages.