The Lyon and the Kid, from Ogilby's Aesopics

Francis Barlow

ca. 1668 · Recto: pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash, over graphite Verso: black chalk preparations · Drawings and Prints

England's first native book illustrator and professional etcher, Francis Barlow is best remembered for his accomplished depictions of animals and birds. This design relates to an etching, one of a group of fifty commissioned by the enterprising publisher John Ogilby to illustrate fables in the manner of Aesop. In the related story, the humble goat remains safely on a hill and resists the enticements of the kingly lion, who secretly wishes to eat him. The moral of the tale suits the tumultuous politics of the period: "Better be Captain in the smallest Fort, Than be commanded in a Princes Court."

Artist

Francis Barlow

Date

ca. 1668

Medium

Recto: pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash, over graphite Verso: black chalk preparations

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift of Mrs. Phyllis Lambert, 1954