Eugène Delacroix (French, 1798–1863)
Lion Hunt
INV-8150
Eugène Delacroix (French, 1798–1863)1860–61
nineteenth century19th centuryromanticpaintingoil on canvas
Date
1860–61
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
76.5 × 98.5 cm (30 × 38 1/2 in.); Framed: 105.5 × 125.8 cm (41 1/2 × 49 1/2 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Potter Palmer Collection
In 1832 Eugène Delacroix joined a diplomatic envoy to French-colonized Algeria. The sights and experiences from this six-month journey fueled the rest of his career, lending his canvases an illusion of accuracy that his less-traveled competitors lacked. The artist expressed in his journals from abroad his admiration for Arab culture, even characterizing it as superior to that of post-revolutionary France. Nevertheless, in paintings like this he catered to violent European fantasies about the Arab world. Having never witnessed a lion hunt, Delacroix skillfully synthesized studies of landscapes, Islamic costume, and zoo animals to bring this narrative to life with theatrical intensity.
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