The Four Oxen and the Lion
1950
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
woodcut
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1954.12.44
Art Historical Context
Behold the striking woodcut *The Four Oxen and Lion* by Antonio Frasconi created in 1950 housed in the National Gallery of's Rosenwald Collection. print captures the essence of a timeless Aesop's fable, where four oxen band together to fend off a lion—symbolizing the power of unity against adversity. Frasconi, a Uruguayan-born artist who became a prominent figure in American printmaking, drew from folk traditions and social realism, infusing his work with bold, expressive forms. Rendered in the ancient medium of woodcut, the piece showcases Frasconi's mastery of relief printing. Carved into w...
About the Artist
Antonio Frasconi · 1919–2013
Antonio Frasconi (1919–2013) was a Uruguayan-American artist renowned for his masterful woodcuts, which blended bold graphic power with poignant social commentary. Born on April 28, 1919, aboard a ship between Argentina and Uruguay to Italian immigrant parents, he was raised in poverty in Montevideo, Uruguay, where his mother worked as a seamstress and restaurant manager to support him and his two...