# The Repast of the Lion

**Henri Rousseau** (French, 1844–1910)  
ca. 1907  
Oil on canvas  
44 3/4 in. × 63 in. (113.7 × 160 cm)

Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 51.112.5. [The museum's record](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/438822).

## About this work

A lion sinks its teeth into its prey amid towering, stylised jungle foliage, enormous leaves and flowers rendered in many carefully distinguished greens. Henri Rousseau, a self-taught painter who worked for years in the Paris toll service, never travelled outside France; he based his jungles on visits to the city’s botanical garden and zoo and on illustrations in books and magazines. The calm, decorative precision of the plants contrasts strangely with the violence at the centre, giving the scene the logic of a dream.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

Henri Rousseau painted this in about 1907, aged about 58. It is now at The Met in New York.

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [Henri Rousseau](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/henri-rousseau)

French, 1844–1910; born in Laval; died in Paris

Rousseau worked for years as a clerk in the Paris toll service, which earned him the nickname “le Douanier”, and taught himself to paint, exhibiting from 1886 at the jury-free Salon des Indépendants. Critics mocked his flat, meticulous style, but younger artists, Picasso among them, came to admire it. He is best known for his dense jungle scenes with wild animals, composed from visits to the Paris botanical garden and zoo and from illustrated books, without his ever leaving France.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Paintings
- The artist was about 58
- Real size: about 45 × 63 in (114 × 160 cm). The original is larger than our largest print, 20 × 30 in, so every print is a reduction.
- Century: 20th century
- Subjects: Lions, Forests
- Colour: black
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1197.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1197/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/the-repast-of-the-lion-met-438822).