Name: Lions in a Mountainous Landscape

Artist: Théodore Gericault

Culture: French

Date: 1818-1820

Medium: Oil Paint on Wood

Museum: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

 

What’s immediately striking about the lions is how desperate they seem. Despite being drawn as traditional lions (with proportionate limbs, torsos, and manes), they appear to be making almost human facial expressions. The central lion, for instance, has a look of anger or fear while the right-most lion exudes longing and desperation. Two of the other lions are painted laying down without any lighting on their entire bodies, giving the impression they are gloomy, hopeless, and exhausted.

Although the primary focus is on their faces, the central lion’s mane is also emphasized. It’s given an almost three dimensional shape with the brush strokes slightly protruding out of the painting and clearly defining the outline of the mane.

The lions reflect the overall “tone” of the landscape. The mountains in the background are painted a (very) dark blue, giving the painting a depressing feel–similar to how the lions are portrayed. There is also a hint of red horizon to the right of the painting, which suggests something chaotic occurring in the background.

It appears to me that the landscape is a reflection of how the lions feel: afraid, hopeless, and uncertain. The painting as a whole gives off a somber mood. As I was observing the painting, I wondered what the lions’ backstory is–what happened to them that made them seem so miserable. I also wondered what’s going on in the background, particularly in the red area on the right.