The Lyon and the Kid, from Ogilby's Aesopics

Francis Barlow|Richard Gaywood|John Ogilby

1668 · Etching · Drawings and Prints

Gaywood based his etching on a drawing by Francis Barlow (see 54.645.1), England's first native book illustrator remembered for his accomplished depictions of animals and birds. Many of the latter illustrated fables, and this example comes from a group published by John Ogilby. The fable tells how a humble goat wisely chose to remain safely on a hill, resisting the enticements of a kingly lion who secretly wishes to eat him. The print was published at the end of a tumultuous decade that saw the dissolution of Oliver Cromwell's Protectorate, restoration of Charles II to the throne, succession of his brother James II and, finally, the latter's ouster by the Dutch-born William III and his wife Mary II. The moral of the fable asserts that it is: "Better be Captain in the smallest Fort, Than be commanded in a Princes Court."

Artist

Francis Barlow|Richard Gaywood|John Ogilby

Date

1668

Medium

Etching

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift of Mrs. Phyllis Lambert, 1954