George Stubbs, A Lion Resting on a Rock published 1788
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Unlike most of Stubbs's big cats, the majestic lion shown here is set in what appears to be an attempt at its native environment, with mountainous coastal scenery and exotic palm trees. It was traditionally believed that Stubbs first saw a lion in Ceuta, Morocco, on his return by sea from Italy in around 1756, but this story is now thought to be apocryphal. His accurate observations of the living beasts were more likely to have been made from studying caged lions at the Tower of London and at Lord Shelbourne’s menagerie on Hounslow Heath.
February 2004
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George Stubbs
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Category
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Subject
nature
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animals: mammals
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