A Leopard and Two Lions
c. 1597
Medium
engraving on laid paper
Dimensions
plate: 12.3 × 19 cm (4 13/16 × 7 1/2 in.) sheet: 12.7 × 19.4 cm (5 × 7 5/8 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund
Accession Number
1972.28.82
Art Historical Context
Adriaen Collaert's *A Leopard and Two Lions created around 1597, is a masterful engraving on laid paper that captures the power and elegance of wild beasts. Collaert, a prominent Flemish engraver from Antwerpc. 1560–1618), belonged to a dynasty of printmakers and specialized in intricate depictions of animals, often drawing from designs by contemporaries like Jan van der Straet (Stradanus). This-scale work (plate: 12.3 × 19 cm) exemplifies the Northern Renaissance's fascination with natural history, as Europe’s Age of Exploration brought tales—and sometimes images—of exotic creatures into arti...