Letter I 15th-16th century

Curator: This woodcut, titled "Letter I," is by an anonymous artist and resides in the Harvard Art Museums. It’s small, but it's packed with detail. Editor: My first impression is of a kind of symbolic bestiary, a world teeming with both light and shadow—a very dense illustrative world. Curator: The figure on the left reminds me of a prophet, his gaze cast upward, perhaps reflecting the patriarchal structures prevalent in the early printing era. The illuminated sun on the right suggests divine right, power, and authority. Editor: I see the sun as a symbol of illumination, of course, but also of cosmic order, while the animals, especially the lion and the horse, represent earthly powers, tamed or untamed. It’s a dance of symbols. Curator: The hierarchical representation is also striking. How power manifests through visual language is a compelling historical aspect here. Editor: Absolutely. Looking at this, I feel the power of symbols continuing to shape our understanding of the world today. Curator: I agree. It's fascinating to see how these enduring images impact and shift meaning across time.