Leeuw bijt paard 1675 - 1680

Editor: Here we have "Lion Attacking a Horse", an engraving from sometime between 1675 and 1680 by Richard Collin, currently at the Rijksmuseum. There’s a real intensity to the scene; you can almost feel the horse’s panic. What strikes you about the piece? Curator: Formally, it's quite interesting. Note the contrast achieved purely through the lines—the dense, almost chaotic hatching defining the lion versus the smoother shading on the horse. The artist manipulates light and shadow to create depth and drama, but it’s all within a very controlled, graphic space. What does that linearity suggest to you? Editor: I guess the linear precision speaks to the influence of printmaking as a medium. It almost feels academic in its rendering, even amidst the violence of the subject matter. Is there tension between the style and the scene it represents? Curator: Precisely. The scene depicts raw animalistic struggle, yet it’s rendered with calculated strokes. Consider how the composition directs your eye. The focal point is undeniably the area where the lion’s teeth meet the horse’s neck, but the swirling lines around them pull your gaze throughout the entire image, activating the surface. It’s a carefully constructed drama. Editor: So, it's the formal elements, like the lines and composition, that convey the drama, perhaps more than just the subject itself? Curator: Precisely. Think of the work in terms of visual forces: the dominance of dark versus light, the aggression of jagged lines meeting the vulnerability of smooth surfaces. It all contributes to the visual power of the engraving. Editor: I never considered engravings as having that kind of active composition before. Seeing it purely as form really sheds new light on the work. Curator: Indeed. Close attention to formal elements offers fresh perspectives.