A Lion, Full Face, August 30, 1841

Eugène Delacroix

1841 · Graphite · Drawings and Prints

Delacroix recorded numerous visits to the zoo and the natural history museum at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, where he could sketch lions from life and carefully study taxidermied specimens. He described the experience as a revitalizing one that encouraged his attention to nature: "How necessary it is to . . . stick one’s head out of doors and try to read from creation, which has nothing in common with cities and the works of man." This 1841 sheet, removed from a sketchbook, includes color notations: "slightly brown" refers to the mane and "light yellow" to the area closer to the nose.

Artist

Eugène Delacroix

Date

1841

Medium

Graphite

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift from the Karen B. Cohen Collection of Eugène Delacroix, in honor of Philippe de Montebello, 2013