Initial N c. 16th century

Editor: This woodcut, "Initial N," is by an anonymous artist. It feels so compact and dense! What meaning do you find embedded within it? Curator: The initial itself is a powerful symbol of beginnings, but consider the flora intertwined within. Does that suggest nature’s embrace or a more constrained feeling, given the letter's form? Editor: I hadn’t considered that tension. The vegetation does feel almost trapped by the letter. Curator: Exactly! It's a reminder of how symbols can be both liberating and confining, shaping our understanding of the world. Editor: That’s fascinating. I’ll definitely look at illuminated letters differently now.