PINGPONG#10: the griffin
Sébastien Gryphe
Sebastian Gryphius or one of the most famous printer of Lyon. A German printer, he moved to Venice before coming to Lyon in 1523 where he stayed until his death in 1556. At his beginnings, he worked for the Grande Compagnie des libraires de Lyon and for Aymé de la Porte, a bookseller and city councillor before setting as an independant workshop.
He chose for his mark a griffin – famous mythological creature half eagle, half lion – from his last name. The animal is pulling up a stone to which is chained a winged globe: could it be an allusion to the new global understanding of the world? Sebastian Gryphius had printed as many law books, a lucrative business, as contemporary Humanist authors such as Erasmus or Rabelais, as well as classical Greek or Latin texts.
Today, you can still find references to Sebastian Gryphius in Lyon’s streets: there is a plaque rue Thomassin to indicate the location of his workshop and a street in Guillotière neighbourhood to his name.
.
MifaMosa
MifaMosa is a street artist who likes to play with his environment. His thing? To illustrate the name of the streets in Briare enamel mosaics. Pay attention to the puns! He started in 2017 in Orléans, where he lives and has since spread in many French cities as well as Switzerland and Bussels. In November 2021, he created this griffin for the same-named street in Croix Paquet neighbourhood.
Do you like his work? MifaMosa will be with us at the museum for the European Heritage Days on September 17 and 18. Come and meet him!
