Staande leeuw, van achter gezien, de kop opzij 1664

Curator: Here we have Marcus de Bye's "Standing Lion, Seen from Behind, Head to the Side," an engraving from 1664, housed here at the Rijksmuseum. A rather regal creature, don't you think? Editor: Initially, what strikes me is the contrast between the meticulous detail of the lion's mane and the almost diagrammatic landscape it inhabits. It feels...unresolved. Curator: The unresolved nature, as you put it, might stem from the very materiality of the work. Engraving, with its dependence on line and hatching, invites us to consider how an image is constructed. The line itself becomes an expressive element. Editor: Exactly! De Bye clearly delineates the lion with sharp lines, giving it a palpable texture. The landscape, by comparison, is more loosely defined, acting almost as a stage for the animal’s potent form. The work hints at something primordial, the labor inherent in coaxing a representation out of metal. Curator: Indeed, and the contrast highlights a dichotomy prevalent in Baroque art. We have the raw power of nature embodied in the lion and then the imposition of order, the artistic intention behind the rendering of that power through line and composition. There’s even a latent commentary on human mastery. Editor: I find it hard to see a complete subjugation there, to be honest. I read more the sense of precarious harmony than mastery, even while it's a classical scene: the beast looks back over his shoulder as if ready to reassert himself over the landscape rather than being captured by it. The artist shows the power dynamic within the making itself. Curator: An intriguing reading, colored perhaps by a contemporary lens? Nevertheless, the dialectic tension you pinpoint—between the image itself and the hand that wrought it from the plate—adds another compelling layer. Thank you. Editor: And thank you for highlighting the structural richness beneath the obvious representation; a good conversation about an exciting work.