Studies of Lions

1829·Graphite on cream laid paper·22.7 × 34.2 cm (8 15/16 × 13 1/2 in.)

<p>Delacroix created these preliminary images for the nearby <a href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/41098"><em>Lion of the Atlas Mountains</em> (1927.1646)</a>, which would appear in reverse as a result of the printmaking process. Experimenting with several positions for the lion’s prey, and two expressions for the feline itself, this abbreviated sheet suggests several close sessions at the Jardin des Plantes. Ever diligent in his research, Delacroix even sought permission to arrive before the zoo opened to the public, to watch the lions being fed.</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1829
Medium: Graphite on cream laid paper
Dimensions: 22.7 × 34.2 cm (8 15/16 × 13 1/2 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Eugene Delacroix

Artist

Eugene Delacroix

Painting

Born in 1789 in Paris, French Romantic painter Eugéne Delacroix received his early training from Pierre Guérin in a classicist vein. While that approach would have little effect on Delacroix’s ultimate artistic development, it was through this connection that he met the painter Théodore Gericault, creator of the masterwork Raft of the Medusa, 1818–19, a work for which Delacroix posed. Ultimately, Delacroix drew most of his inspiration from the plethora of art available for him to study at the Louvre. He was also exposed to a wide of array of literature, including the writing of Shakespeare, Byron, and Scott. It was those literary sources that would ultimately be the catalyst to Delacroix’s full embrace of Romanticism, despite the growing popularity of Neoclassicism.

Charenton-Saint-Maurice, France

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