Artwork
A lion killing a boar
A lion killing a boar is an oil painting by the Flemish Baroque painting artist Frans Snyders. It dates from 1650 and is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections.
About this work
Overview
Frans Snyders’ oil painting, dated to around 1650, depicts a dramatic encounter between a lion and a boar. The canvas is part of the collection at the Alte Pinakothek, where it is displayed among other works of the Flemish Baroque period.
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on a lion poised over a fallen boar, its massive paws bearing down on the animal’s torso while the boar’s gaping mouth suggests a final, desperate gasp. The juxtaposition of predator and prey emphasizes the raw violence of the natural world, a theme frequently explored in 17th‑century hunting scenes.
Technique & Style
Snyders employs a pronounced chiaroscuro, using deep shadows to model the lion’s golden fur and the boar’s twisted form, while a muted, cloudy sky recedes in the background. The careful rendering of texture, from the sheen of the boar’s tusks to the soft foliage, creates a palpable sense of three‑dimensionality.
History & Provenance
Created circa 1650, the work entered the Alte Pinakothek’s holdings in the 19th century, joining a broader acquisition of Flemish Baroque paintings. Its provenance reflects the museum’s focus on assembling representative examples of Snyders’ animal studies, which were highly prized by collectors of the era.
Artist & collection
Artist
Frans Snyders or Frans Snijders was a Flemish painter of animals, hunting scenes, market scenes, and still lifes.
Still life of fruit in a basket together with game, a bowl of fraises-de-bois, artichokes, asparagus and a squirrel upon a table draped with a red cloth
Still Life with Grapes and Game
Still Life with Flowers, Grapes, and Small Game Birds
The Fruit Shop
Fish Market
Still Life with Dead Game, Fruits, and Vegetables in a Market
Larder Still life
Still Life with Huntsman
