Henri Rousseau (le Douanier) (French, Laval 1844–1910 Paris); ca. 1907; Oil on canvas

Upon entering the vastness of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and navigating through the winding maze of paintings and people, I stumbled upon an animal’s feast. Henry Rousseau’s The Repast of the Lion was painted in 1907, and is a large 3′ 9″ x 5′ 3″ oil on canvas painting.

What initially struck me about the painting was the vastness of the jungle and how nature had taken up most of the canvas, depicting: a seemingly endless jungle; a noticeably enlarged forest; a brightly illuminated sun. The jungle had taken up so much of my attention, I had nearly missed the lion, though it stared me down, hiding within the tall grass. The lifelike illustration of this lion contains a much more muted yellow compared to the bright yellow of the enlarged flowers; it’s face contains hints of green and almost blends in with its surroundings. The lion is also much smaller in size compared to the immense vegetation engulfing it: the flower, budding off of the stem of a “tree”, is nearly the same size as the ferocious animal. Though after taking some time to observe it, I realized that the lion in this painting is a rather realistic illustration as it feasts on an antelope. Dabs of red are located around the claws, mouth, and side of the lion, as this is the only place within the entire painting where red is present. As the lion feasts on the antelope, its haunting eyes are staring directly at the viewer. Though Rousseau was often criticized for being a primitive artist, the lion to me is still an incredibly intimidating mimesis of nature, hiding within the immense forest, looking out for its next prey.