A Sleeping Leopard

George Stubbs

January 1, 1791 · Soft-ground etching with roulette work; second state of two · Drawings and Prints

Stubbs’s masterful ability to both describe animals and suggest their inner life is evident in the curled form of this unconscious great cat. Soft-ground etching, enhanced with roulette work, was used to create the inky darkness that cloaks the sleeping body. At several points, the profile of the animal’s body merges with the gnarled tree trunk at its back, while its open mouth echoes the rounded negative spaces between the branches above. Pushing the possibilities of his medium, Stubbs captured the distinct textures of bark, fur, and rocky ground using a limited tonal range. Lions, tigers, and leopards represented nature’s ferocity and evoked terror for eighteenth-century viewers, an emotion associated with the sublime.

Artist

George Stubbs

Date

January 1, 1791

Medium

Soft-ground etching with roulette work; second state of two

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1949