Letter D c. 16th century

Curator: This gorgeous woodcut, titled "Letter D," comes to us from an anonymous hand. It's simply bursting with life! Editor: There's something so intriguing about the anonymity here. Letters, language, literacy—for centuries, knowledge was power, carefully controlled and often denied to marginalized groups. Curator: Yes, and yet within the structure of the letter, we see such abundant nature. The flowers and fruit feel almost rebellious, breaking free from the rigid form. I wonder what statement it makes? Editor: Or perhaps that the natural world is intrinsically ordered, that even in wildness, we find structure mirroring social hierarchies. This makes me consider who could access education, who could not, and how this affected their view of nature. Curator: I love that tension! It's a reminder that even the smallest works can contain worlds of meaning. Editor: Absolutely. It's a powerful piece, prompting us to question the very foundations upon which knowledge is built.