About this artwork
Delacroix’s Romantic fascination with the Oriental other and the savagery of nature comes to the fore in this delicate etching in which a turbaned Arab becomes a lioness’s prey. Pinioned by the lion’s mighty paws, the man no longer struggles but resigns himself to being rent asunder. The man’s eyes are in shadow while the animal’s are wide and fierce, a contrast underscoring the violence and the intimacy of the kill. Details such as the single slipper lying near the man’s foot and the cuffed short leggings emphasize his exotic origins.
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Prints and Drawings
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Artist
- Eugène Delacroix
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Title
- Lioness Tearing at the Chest of an Arab
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Place
- France (Artist's nationality:)
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Date
- Made 1849
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Medium
- Soft ground etching and roulette on cream chine, laid down on white wove paper
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Dimensions
- Plate: 21.2 × 28.1 cm (8 3/8 × 11 1/8 in.); Sheet: 35 × 49 cm (13 13/16 × 19 5/16 in.)
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Credit Line
- Jane H. Gertz Memorial Fund
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Reference Number
- 1985.401
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IIIF Manifest
- https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/104244/manifest.json