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Le Repas du lion

French 19th Century

1897

ink

paper

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Impressionism Realism Late 19th Century

Dominant colour

Le Repas du lion is a 1897 ink by French 19th Century, a Impressionism work, held at National Gallery of Art.

Who painted this?: French 19th Century
When & what style?: 1897 · Impressionism
Where can I see it?: National Gallery of Art

About this work

This print shows a lion at a dining table with a knife and fork. He sits straight in a chair, eyeing a half-eaten meal. The red ink makes him look more like a costumed man than a wild animal. The artist used photolithography, a way to turn photos into printable plates. It was new in 1897 and let artists copy images fast. This print is one of the few left from that experiment. Lithography is the technique to explore next.

About the artist

Artist

French 19th Century

This sculptor liked to keep sharp tools in the studio and blunt ones in his pocket—his niece recalled finding him absentmindedly whittling a stick while talking philosophy.

See the richer artist page