id: 150068 accession number: 1980.274 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1980.274 updated: 2020-11-04 21:21:04.570000 Lion, 1750s. Giuseppe Baldrighi (Italian, 1723-1803). Oil on canvas; framed: 108 x 92 x 7 cm (42 1/2 x 36 1/4 x 2 3/4 in.); unframed: 79.5 x 64 cm (31 5/16 x 25 3/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Noah L. Butkin 1980.274 title: Lion title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 1750s creation date earliest: 1750 creation date latest: 1759 current location: creditline: Bequest of Noah L. Butkin copyright: --- culture: France, 18th century technique: oil on canvas department: European Painting and Sculpture collection: P - French 18th Century type: Painting find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * Giuseppe Baldrighi (Italian, 1723-1803) - artist --- measurements: Framed: 108 x 92 x 7 cm (42 1/2 x 36 1/4 x 2 3/4 in.); Unframed: 79.5 x 64 cm (31 5/16 x 25 3/16 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: inscription: signed lower right: Oudry translation: remark: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Year in Review: 1980 opening date: 1981-06-23T04:00:00 Year in Review: 1980. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (June 23-July 19, 1981). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS * CMA, 1981, "Year in Review 1980," no. 62. --- PROVENANCE - 1785 Count Otto Thott, 1703 - 1785 (Gavnoe Castel, Denmark), upon his death, by inheritance to his heirs date: footnotes: citations: 1785- Heirs of Otto Thott date: footnotes: citations: (London sales 1968) date: footnotes: citations: sold, Christie's, London, July 9, 1976, lot 124, to Noah L. Butkin. date: footnotes: citations: Noah L. Butkin, upon his death, held in trust by the estate. date: footnotes: citations: Estate of Noah L. Butkin, by bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1980. date: footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: digital description: Looking upward with eyes gleaming and mouth open, the lion conveys wild elegance. The sketch comprises short brushstrokes, and its most striking detail is the thick and plentiful mane. Undefined planes of black make up the lion's longest tresses, but closer to the face, the mane becomes increasingly light. Although the darkest parts of the mane lack precise definition, the chestnut shades of the mane host shadows and highlights that lend a sense of realism. Additionally, varied shades of brown are contrasted by the lighter, creamier shades of white at the lion's muzzle. The life-like nature of this sketch is further communicated by the bright, wet patches on the lion's nose and mouth. Likewise, a bright glimmer in the lion's right eye illustrates its vitality. At the bottom right of the lion, a small signature attributes the painting to the French animal painter Jean-Baptiste Oudry, although this signature was a later addition, and it is actually the work of the Italian painter Baldrighi, court artist to the Dukes of Parma. Sent to Paris in 1752, Baldrighi studied with a number of leading French painters, including Oudry, leading to a number of animal studies in Oudry's style. These works emulate the elder artist's smooth handling and stem directly from Oudry's method of executing head studies of animals in expressive poses. This work has a much blunter facture, a more linear use of paint, and a lack of psychological depth in the animal's expression -- all characteristic of Baldrighi. wall description: Looking upward with eyes gleaming and mouth open, the lion conveys wild elegance. The sketch comprises short brushstrokes, and its most striking detail is the thick and plentiful mane. Undefined planes of black make up the lion's longest tresses, but closer to the face, the mane becomes increasingly light. Although the darkest parts of the mane lack precise definition, the chestnut shades of the mane host shadows and highlights that lend a sense of realism. Additionally, varied shades of brown are contrasted by the lighter, creamier shades of white at the lion's muzzle. The life-like nature of this sketch is further communicated by the bright, wet patches on the lion's nose and mouth. Likewise, a bright glimmer in the lion's right eye illustrates its vitality. At the bottom right of the lion, a small signature attributes the painting to Oudry. Although the remainder of the painting has been left unpolished, it probably serves as a valuable study for the completed version that is one of thirteen in a series of animals by the artist. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1980.274/1980.274_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1980.274/1980.274_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1980.274/1980.274_full.tif