Horizontal Panel with Three Birds, from Varii Generis Opera Aurifabris Necessaria 1595 - 1605

Editor: This is a Horizontal Panel with Three Birds, made between 1595 and 1605 by Paul Birckenhultz, here at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It's rendered in ink and engraving, and it feels… intricately patterned, like a page torn from a very fancy fairytale. All these twisting vines and plump grapes… It’s almost overwhelming. What do you see when you look at this piece? Curator: Ah, Paul Birckenhultz. I see a jewel box of details! Forget Sleeping Beauty; this whispers of feasts, of noble tables overflowing with abundance. See how the birds, slightly predatory, are nevertheless contained within this formal arrangement? It's like taming nature's wildness, fitting it into a very refined vision. Do you catch the suggestion of power in that containment? Editor: Power… I was just thinking of pretty decorations. Curator: Exactly! Decoration isn’t ever *just* decoration. In the Renaissance, designs like these – drawings that were copied as prints – functioned as templates for luxury items like jewelry, and weapons. The elite demonstrated control by domesticating wildlife – literally eating swan and peacock. These images were emblems, tiny crests reminding people where they stood. Imagine, wearing this on your dagger! Do you see now how those vines constrict, ever so gently? Editor: I do! It’s like the birds are caught in a beautiful but inescapable trap. I was so focused on the surface, the pretty lines… Curator: And that’s the magic, isn't it? Birckenhultz lures you in with beauty, then subtly suggests a darker undercurrent. Editor: So much for fairytales! This feels like I need to rethink my entire approach to art history. Thanks for illuminating all this.