Lioness Stalking Her Postcard

This is a reproduction of “Lioness Stalking Her Prey” of about 1853 by Eugene Delacroix. In this painting the artist’s fascination with lions is expressed in a common pastime for the king of beasts. For Delacroix the lion “was the antithesis of all that man stands for as a rational being” yet he also speaks of lions as metaphors for creativity and heroism in man. He was aged about fifty-five when this was created. He had burst upon the French artistic word at the age of twenty-four with his “Barque of Dante” and became an immediate leader of the new Romantic movement. In contrast to the perfectionist Academics, Delacroix led the Romantics in the use of expressive brushstrokes being inspired by Rubens and Titan. He favored exotic scenes and emphasized colour and movement rather than clarity of line. Though hs subjects were full of passion and violence, he depicted them with a great clarifty. This painting is an oil on canvas and measures 16.34 by 12 inches. It is in the Musee d’Orsay in Paris.