Lioness Clawing an Arab’s Chest, 1849

Soft-ground etching and roulette.
Delteil 25 I (of III), before letters. 213 x 280 mm (plate).

Lioness is Eugène Delacroix’ last print and his only soft-ground etching. The artist used this technique to produce the illusion of a soft chalk or crayon drawing. The smooth aspect of the soft-ground etching is especially well visible in the rare first state, making it by far the most desirable. Delacroix’s Romantic fascination with the Oriental and the savagery of nature comes to the forefront in this delicate etching in which a turbaned Arab becomes a lioness’s prey.

Signed in plate, left below middle: "Eug. Delacroix 1849"
A fine early impression with complete visible plate mark. Rare.