The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of July 14, 2026

A vertically oriented engraving in black ink depicts a lion resting on a rocky ledge within a circular border of Latin text. Facing right with a textured mane and tail curling left, the lion lies above a human skull in the foreground. To the right, tall flora grows from the stone, while wispy clouds fill the sky. Fine, curved lines and hatching define the forms against the light, rectangular paper.

The Great Lion

1590

Jacob de Gheyn II

(Netherlandish, 1565–1629)
publisher

Joos de Bosscher

Netherlands
engraving
Image: 25.4 x 33 cm (10 x 13 in.)
Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland 2025.200
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

In preparation for creating this engraving, the artist observed and sketched an actual lion, likely one brought to the Netherlands by the Dutch East India Company and exhibited in a menagerie or zoo in The Hague.

Description

Created during the Eighty Years’ War, De Gheyn’s Great Lion blends political allegory with naturalistic observation. The lion symbolizes the Dutch Republic’s bravery in its fight for independence from Spain, while the Latin inscription praises the lion’s—and by extension, the young Dutch Republic’s—vigilance and courage. De Gheyn, who also served in a local militia and produced an important military manual for the Dutch stadtholder, depicts the scene with detailed accuracy, from the texture of the lion’s fur to the carefully observed skull, which may reflect his attendance at dissections at Leiden’s anatomy theater.
  • November 22, 2023
    Vermot & Associés, Paris, Nov. 22, 2023, lot 70
    ?–2025
    (Hill-Stone, Inc., Dartmouth, MA)
    2025
    The Print Club of Cleveland, Cleveland, OH, given to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    December 8, 2025–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=The Great Lion|url=false|author=Jacob de Gheyn II, Joos de Bosscher|year=1590|access-date=14 July 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2025.200