Lion Standing

Lion Standing is a powerful lithograph created by Eugène Delacroix in 1833. Classified as a foundational print, this work exemplifies Delacroix's dedication to the graphic arts early in the French Romantic period. The impression held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art is cataloged as the only state known to exist, showcasing the artist’s directness and immediacy in capturing his animal subjects. The lithograph technique, which was enjoying increasing popularity in the 1830s, allowed Delacroix to achieve a sophisticated range of tonal values, essential for rendering the texture of the coat and the intense musculature of the central feline figure.

Delacroix, the leading painter of French Romanticism, maintained a profound and lifelong artistic fascination with the majesty and power inherent in great cats. His frequent studies of lions and tigers were not conceived as mere academic drawings but as vehicles for exploring intense emotion, vitality, and dynamism, core hallmarks of the movement. This particular piece, focusing on a solitary, alert lion, captures the animal in a moment of solemn dignity, contrasting with his more violent animal combat scenes. Delacroix’s masterful handling of the printing medium ensures that the viewer feels the inherent weight and coiled tension of the massive creature poised for movement.

The prominence of Lions as a subject in the artist’s oeuvre solidified their cultural significance in nineteenth-century art. This artwork provides essential insight into the foundational studies that later informed Delacroix’s large-scale paintings. Today, due to the work's established age and provenance within major institutions like the Met, high-resolution images and prints of this iconic animal study are often available through public domain collections. The Metropolitan Museum's extensive holding of nineteenth-century French prints provides crucial context for understanding the scope of Delacroix’s distinctive contribution to graphic arts.