Marble Right-Hand Short Side of a Sarcophagus

Roman, Severan, 220 A.D.

The first thing that catches my attention is the lion biting the deer’s head. Then I noticed a person behind the lion, raising their hand almost as if they are trying to order the lion to do something. The person has short curly hair, is wearing a type of robe, and holding a staff-like object. From my perspective, this person seems to be of low status such as a sheep herder. The lion takes up most of the basin. It has a tail thats end is out of our vision. Its hind feet are tensed and you can visually see its muscles on its leg. As we follow the tensed muscles up its back, we may not notice that their is no waves of hair on it. The lion’s fur is flat and you cannot see the sea of hairs on its body. Now, its mane is extremely detailed. There are many hairs going in separate directions and almost seems to resemble the same hair on  the person’s head. There are small holes above the lion’s eyes to resemble eyebrows and they are raised so it looks to be angry. The eyes itself are not looking at the deer but instead into the distance, almost like it is staring at the viewer. Its nostrils are flared and the formation of the nose is extremely distinct. It does not look like a dog or a human, but an actual lion’s face. Its teeth are sunken into the deer’s head, but the front two teeth are visible to the viewer. The lion is represented in a position of power and intimidation. I believe that this lion is presented on a bathing basin in order to be scary or intimidating.  If a person is bathing, they are very vulnerable so the lion is placed on the basin to “protect” the vulnerable person and look out in the distance for potential intruders. This is my interpretation of the lion sculpture on the basin.

Fragment of A Bon Throne Back | Rubin Museum of Art | Artist Unknown | Origin: 14th Century Tibet | Medium: Wood Panel with Pigments

Lions are commonly portrayed in art as innately aggressive and this 14th Century Tibetan throne fragment is no exception. The piece features a man-eating lion (bottom) and a serpent-eating griffin (top). What is immediately striking about the lion is its stylized design. It has an unusual face with a round nose similar to that of a pig’s. Pointed ears, sharp eyebrows, a thick mane, and two sharp teeth, its features represent power. This power is also reflected in its dark coloring. Its primarily dark, silver body contrasts with the animal’s traditionally soft yellow fur, more so resembling armor. Red is also present in the thin fold of the lion’s ear and the pointed end of its tail. There is a clear emphasis on its face, the only golden colored portion of its body. Neck turned and mouth open, the lion prepares to clamp down on its prey.

The lion is not absolute in its strength. Its placement under the griffin reflects a degree of inferiority. The griffin makes a strong leap for its prey well above the lion. Nevertheless, both animals share a common ability to destroy. The artist effectively presents the lion as a merciless creature. Viewing this was indeed quite frightening. It’s discomforting to witness another man lose a limb. Overall, I’m sure most would agree with me in wanting to avoid a similar fate.

Human-headed winged lion (Lamassu) ca. 883–859 B.C.

“Human-headed winged lion (Lamassu)” is a sculpture from the Neo-Assyrian period, sculpted around 883–859 B.C. This statue is displayed with its pair at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 401. It is crafted from gypsum alabaster in the image of the beliefs of the Assyrian culture. The statue stands tall adorning the entrance to the gallery with the dimensions ofH. 122 1/2 x W. 24 1/2 x D. 109 in. As a description of the statue, it is stated, “Among such stone beasts is the human-headed, winged lion pictured here. The horned cap attests to its divinity, and the belt signifies its power. The sculptor gave these guardian figures five legs so that they appear to be standing firmly when viewed from the front but striding forward when seen from the side. Lamassu protected and supported important doorways in Assyrian palaces.”

The most distinctive and the most emphasized feature of the sculpted lion is the face. The lion has been sculpted with the face of the human which is quite realistic. All facial features resemble a human along with an earring in the left ear of the stature. Additionally, the chin of the statue is quite similar to nose depicted in the relics of the Ancient Egyptians. There also rests a hat on the head of the statue. The hat has been very masterfully crafted as it shows folds and ripples of the supposed cloth.

As the eye falls lower upon the statue, massive wings can be noticed on the body of the statue. These wings remind of the fiction beast Pegasus. The depicted feathers on the wing are quite realistic as well. Each feature can be seen by itself, differing from an action wing. The feathers are portrayed in a very symmetrical fashion. The feathers spread to the chest of the lion and get smaller in size. Compared to the feathers on the chest, the feathers on the wings are quite large and are shown with more texture. The texture of the feathers does not invoke a feeling of soft to the touch, but rather it displays roughness.

The body of the lion is very unlike a lion. The structure of the back and abdomen closely resembles that of a dog. Additionally, there are five legs depicted on the statue rather than only four of a normal lion. The paws of the lion are more like clawed hooves rather than paws. They seem very sharp and almost seem like there is no flesh of muscle, only bone. The legs of the statue are adorned with lines which seem like bones or muscles.

As a viewer, I believe the lion is depicted to represent majestic features of beasts, humans and birds. The lion bears the face of a human, the wings of a bird and paws of a beast. The overall effect of the sculpture is quite daunting. It represents power and fear.

Marble Statue of a Lion

This Greek sculpture was made approximately around 400-390 B.C. with Parian marble. The dimensions of this sculpture are height  31 1/4 in. (79.4 cm) and length 63 1/2 in. (161.3 cm). This statue is now on display at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 156. The artist is unknown.
“Marble statues of lions were sometimes used as tomb monuments or as guardians at both ends of a large tomb facade. Like many classical Greek works of art, this statue was taken to Rome during the imperial period.”

The lion depicted in the sculpture above immediately strikes me as being a dangerous creature. The lion is crouched down as if he is ready to lunge at or attack something in its path. The lion resembles a dog in its stature, stance, and paws especially. Since lions were extinct in mainland Greece long before this sculpture was made, the artist most likely used dogs as his real life inspiration.

This lion is very realistic. The sculpture is life size, which makes this piece even more intimidating. I purposely decided not to crop the man passing behind the sculpture out of the picture to illustrate just how large this lion was. The lion’s mane is not very large or dramatic, as the ripples in its fur blend right into his torso and the rest of his flesh. The lion is snarling so much that even its nose is scrunched up and exposes more of its sharp teeth. I can hear its roar as I walk by. The lion’s ribs are exposed through its skin. This makes me think that the lion is malnourished and ferocious. This lion will scare off any unwanted visitors, like thieves. Walking around the sculpture, you can clearly see the details and how the artist deliberately wanted to give it life and power.

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.

“The Dream” was painted by French artist Henri Rousseau. This painting, along with many others, was painted during his last year of life; 1910. Rousseau loved painting jungles even though he never physically left his home in France. This painting can be found on the fifth floor of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City where it was donated in 1954 by Nelson A. Rockefeller. The  painting’s dimensions are 6’ 8” by 9’ 9” and it is made from oil on canvas.

On the left side of the painting lies a naked woman on an ordinary sofa. She has her arm out as though she is reaching out towards something. Surrounding her is a jungle filled with exotic plants, fruits, and animals and it seems as though the woman on the sofa does not belong there. While there is a lot going on in the painting, the two lions immediately grab the viewers’ attention. They are painted with light colors as opposed to the dark colors used to depict the person behind them. The lions are relatively small and don’t appear to be so scary. One lion is staring directly at the viewer and looks rather afraid. His eyes are big and his head is slightly lower than his back, revealing his mane. The top of his back pokes through the high grass and his body is directed towards the woman but his head is turned to face the viewer. While lions are often used to represent dominance, this lion appears to be lost, worried or scared. The other lion has no mane- she is a lioness and she is staring at the woman. The artist chooses not to paint their entire bodies, rather just their heads sticking out through the plants, focusing on their facial expressions. Rousseau is able to convey feelings of fear, distress and entrapment using lions.

The Sleeping Gypsy

Henry Rousseau

• “Rousseau, a toll collector for the city of Paris, was largely a self-taught painter, although he had ambitions of entering the Academy. This was never realized, but the sharp colors, fantastic imagery, and precise outlines in his work—derived from the style and subject matter of popular print culture—struck a chord with a younger generation of avant-garde painters. Rousseau described the subject of The Sleeping Gypsy thus: ‘A mandolin player, lies with her jar beside her (a vase with drinking water), overcome by fatigue in a deep sleep. A lion chances to pass by, picks up her scent yet does not devour her. There is a moonlight effect, very poetic.'”

3.

• a.  Noticeably textured, the Lion seems to have almost an soulful yet mystical appearance, his tail extended as if it were a radio antennae guiding the Lion from security from the back. The Lion is definitely more stylized as it does seem to have a dotted or a pixel-y texture, with its color being extremely delicate in regards to the lighting in the painting.
• b. The Lion’s tail, mane, and surrounding body-glow all seriously stand out to my eye. His mane so luscious and furry, his head bowing down to the ground in a very humble but bold way.
• c. The Lion’s body is very much related to the color scheme surrounding the artwork, however no one can miss the Lion as its presence next to the Gypsy is very bold and strong. The landscape shows a nightly desert along with mountains and very milky moon, giving us a very powerful sense of being in the painting.
• d. To me, the Lion has a very comfortable presence with me. I love animals and nature, and for such a beautiful creature to be portrayed as peacefully walking next to a human is a wonderful sight. It allows the opportunity to give much thought to our relationship with Nature, today.

https://www.moma.org/collection/works/80172

The Sleeping Gypsy was painted by self-taught painter Henri Rousseau in 1897. This oil painting was created in Paris, France and is now on view on the fifth floor of The Museum of Modern Art. The dimensions of this piece of artwork are 51″ x 6’7″.

What I immediately noticed about the painting were the vibrant colors on the Gypsy’s clothing and in the scenery. The contrast between these colors and the dark figures made the figures pop out and come to life. The lion therefore looked real, far off in the distance, but ready to approach if I spoke too loud. Most emphasized I believe was the lion’s eye. It was large and bright and looked like it was about to turn on me. In addition, the lion’s large mane seemed textured and soft, making it look like it was actually blowing in the night’s wind. Lastly, what eventually grabbed my attention most was the way the lion looked like it was tiptoeing past the Gypsy, making sure not to wake her from her peaceful sleep. The unplayed musical instrument helped create this sense of silence and calmness.

Although my initial reaction to this painting was fear for the Gypsy, I began to feel calmer as I realized the lion was not going to attack. I came to respect the lion for his ability to restrain himself and allow the Gypsy to stay sleeping. I believe that this realistic and moving representation of the lion combined with the bursts of color caused me to turn away from the painting with a sense of serenity and a smile on my face.