Lion in Repose Matted Print

A male lion with a full mane and black-tipped tail rests with his massive head against his upturned paw in a dry and rocky landscape. This quality print will add a handsome touch to any office or home decor. The print comes in a cream colored mat and fits standard 11 x 14 inch frames.

A quintessential example of Antione-Louis Barye's (1796-1875) talents as a watercolorist, he was famously known for his sculptures of animals. After years of close study of animals in the simulated habitats of Paris zoos, Barye transported the majestic cat to an imagined setting in a dry and mountainous landscape. Highly finished drawings such as this one, signed by the artist, were retained by Barye in his studio rather than exhibited or sold to collectors.

The artist's effort to place the animals he cast in popular bronzes into a context and palette that situates them in the world instead of as isolated figures can be appreciated as an extension of his passion for his living subjects and their displacement in their modern menageries of Paris.

This print was produced from the Morgan’s collections to accompany the exhibition Walton Ford: Birds and Beasts of the Studio on view at the Morgan Library & Museum April 12, 2024 through October 20, 2024.