ticketsMember | Make a donation

A Lion (A Lion Resting on a Rock)

May 1, 1788
Not on view
Stubbs was eighteenth-century Britain’s greatest animal painter and a skilled etcher, an unusual combination of artistic skills for that period. The artist’s renderings of big cats generally are set in dark wooded settings; however, here, the lushly maned lion lies on a clifftop overlooking the sea. Distant palm trees evoke the animal’s native North African habitat, which the artist never visited. To study the lion’s form, Stubbs likely went to either the menagerie at the Tower of London or the one on Hounslow Heath maintained by Lord Shelbourne. The lion’s pose and expression convey his traditional status as king of beasts.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: A Lion (A Lion Resting on a Rock)
  • Artist: George Stubbs (British, Liverpool 1724–1806 London)
  • Published in: London
  • Date: May 1, 1788
  • Medium: Etching with roulette work; only state
  • Dimensions: 13 1/4 x 10 1/4 in. (33.7 x 26.0 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1949
  • Object Number: 49.49.4
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Dog (A Foxhound Viewed from Behind), George Stubbs British, Roulette work with etching; first and only state
Dog (A Foxhound Viewed from Behind)
George Stubbs
May 1, 1788
A Horse Affrighted at a Lion, George Stubbs British, Etching with roulette work; third state of three
A Horse Affrighted at a Lion
George Stubbs
May 1, 1788
A Sleeping Leopard, George Stubbs British, Soft-ground etching with roulette work; second state of two
A Sleeping Leopard
George Stubbs
January 1, 1791
The Anatomy of the Horse, including a particular description of the bones, cartilages, muscles, fascias, ligaments, nerves, arteries, veins, and glands, George Stubbs British, Illustrations: etching
The Anatomy of the Horse, including a particular description of the bones, cartilages, muscles, fascias, ligaments, nerves, arteries, veins, and glands
George Stubbs
1766
A Tyger (A Recumbent Leopard by a Tree), George Stubbs British, Etching with roulette work; first and only state
A Tyger (A Recumbent Leopard by a Tree)
George Stubbs
May 1, 1788

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.