Arab Horseman Attacked by a Lion
Eugène Delacroix
1849–1850
- Medium
- Oil on panel
- Dimensions
- 43.9 × 38.1 cm (17 1/4 × 15 in.); Framed: 63.9 × 55.3 × 8.3 cm (25 1/8 × 21 3/4 × 3 1/4 in.)
- Genre
- painting
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Styles
Tags
oil paintings (visual works)paintingfrancenineteenth century19th centurypaintChicago World's FairsMountainlionsCentury of Progressoil on panelplant materialfrenchanimalspanel paintingcolonialismoil paint (paint)painting (image making)mountainshorsesswordspainting techniquesromanticwood (plant material)manviolenceworld's fairspropagandaorganic materialoil paintingpanel (wood)european paintinghorseNature
About
Man and beast intertwine to form a single writhing body in this emotionally charged depiction of a lion attacking a horse and its rider. Through short, energetic brushstrokes and carefully manipulated contrasts of light and shadow, Eugène Delacroix imbued this imagined scene with action and drama. While many artists of the period explored the theme of man versus nature, depictions of Arab men entangled with wild animals served a specific propagandistic function, justifying the brutality of French colonial rule by depicting its subjects as violent and inhuman.
