Engravings of Lions, Tigers, Panthers, Leopards, Dogs, &c

In Short

This volume is a curated portfolio of engravings showcasing the anatomy and behavior of lions, tigers, and various dogs. Produced in the mid-nineteenth century, it features designs primarily by Sir Edwin Landseer, rendered by his brother, Thomas. Beyond the plates themselves, the text functions as an aesthetic manifesto, arguing that traditional European art—specifically the work of Rubens—falsely "humanized" wild animals. By juxtaposing classical interpretations with direct studies from nature, the book invites readers to reconsider the boundary between artistic license and scientific truth in the portrayal of the animal kingdom.

The Story

The narrative arc of the book begins with an aesthetic provocation: a critique of the "humanized" lion. The text asserts that historical painters, including Rubens and Titian, were limited by an artificial education in animal anatomy, leading them to depict beasts with the facial expressions of "frowning old gentlemen." This opening establishes a clear mission to correct the historical record by favoring the "savagery" and instinctual reality of the animals over allegorical convenience.

As the plates progress, the reader is guided through a series of comparative studies. The authors move from lions and leopards—often shown in states of repose or mythological play—to more intense, dramatic scenes. We see a "Contending Group," where a fawn, leopard, tiger, and lion are locked in a violent, cascading struggle for survival. This scene serves as a focal point for the book’s argument, shifting the focus from static character to "animal expression." The authors analyze these displays of rage and instinct with a clinical, almost anatomical precision, drawing upon the theories of Sir Charles Bell to distinguish between the superficial emotions of humans and the elemental ferocity of the predator.

The arc then turns toward the domestic and the specific. After examining the exotic carnivores of Africa and India, the focus shifts to the familiar: the Newfoundland dog, the terrier, and the fox-hound. These portraits are presented not as allegories, but as rigorous studies of breed-specific traits. We witness "Brutus," a terrier of great vigilance, and the famous case of "Charlotte," a lioness raised by a domestic bitch, which highlights the adaptability of instinct in controlled settings.

The final movement of the book widens to include the broader landscape of the hunt. Scenes like "Tiger taking the Water" and the return of hunting elephants ground the reader in the practical realities of the relationship between man and predator in the colonial world. The book concludes with a return to the technical aspects of engraving, celebrating the skill required to render the textures of fur and the nuances of muscular tension. By the final plate, the initial critique has matured into a broader appreciation for the intersection of art and science. The reader is left with the understanding that while humans are tempted to project their own nature onto the beast, the true beauty of these animals lies in their "involuntary" cruelty and their distinct, non-human physical realities.

How It Unfolds

The critique of the masters The volume opens by challenging the long-held prestige of artists like Rubens, whose lions are dismissed as "frowning old gentlemen" with wigs. This sets the stage for a re-evaluation of animal portraiture based on nature rather than tradition.

Defining the animal soul The text introduces a distinction between "character" (the animal's natural, placid state) and "expression" (the physical agitation caused by instinct). This theoretical framework prepares the reader to interpret the subsequent engravings as scientific, not merely decorative, documents.

The anatomy of ferocity By analyzing the "snarling muscles" and the differences in eye pupils between lions and tigers, the authors ground their artistic project in biological fact. They argue that the predator’s face is a machine for survival, incapable of human affection.

The domestication of the wild The narrative shifts to domestic dogs and cross-breeds, showing that the same observational rigour applied to the lion is equally suited to the bloodhound. This section emphasizes the variety and specificity of canine behavior.

The hunt as a closing argument The book concludes with complex scenes of tigers and elephants in action, demonstrating the culmination of the artist's eye. The final plates serve as a synthesis, where the raw power of the beast is captured in its natural environment.

The People

The figures at the heart of this work are the Landseer brothers, Edwin and Thomas. Sir Edwin Landseer is the primary observer; he is the one who steps away from the "introductory medium" of historical precedent to look directly at the living, breathing subjects. He acts as the architect of the book’s visual truth, valuing the raw, snarling instinct of a tiger over the refined compositions of the past. His brother, Thomas Landseer, acts as the skilled mediator, translating Edwin’s drawings into the tactile, permanent medium of the engraving. Together, they form a unified voice that rejects the "credit which attaches to great names" in favor of the evidence of their own eyes.

Also present are the "old masters," such as Rubens and Snyders, who appear as foils to the Landseers. The authors treat Rubens with a mixture of professional respect and firm disagreement, acknowledging his poetic mastery while condemning his failure to observe the true nature of a lion's mane or a tiger's eye. Finally, the figure of the researcher—embodied by Cuvier and Bell—provides the intellectual scaffolding. These men of science allow the Landseers to move beyond artistic opinion, lending the book a sense of authority and rigor as they parse the "facial muscles" of the carnivora to prove that an animal's rage is not a moral failing, but a physiological necessity.

In Its Own Voice

"The Lions of RUBENS are humanized; yet the opinions which we felt at liberty to form on the subject, we feel at liberty to utter."

The authors use this observation to justify their departure from the stylistic conventions of the Old Masters.

"There is, about these Carnivorous and terrible creatures, a saving grace—a beauty in their dreadfulness, which is exceedingly interesting, although it co-exist with cruelty."

This reflection captures the book’s central philosophical stance on the nature of predators.

"Whoever regards the faces of a flock of Sheep, will see in them an infinite variety of Character, with very little Expression, and that little without diversity."

This quote highlights the authors’ interest in the spectrum of animal communication and their method of classifying species by their observable behaviors.

What It's Really About

At its core, the book is an inquiry into the limits of human empathy when projected onto the natural world. It grapples with the tension between the "poetical" view of nature—where animals serve as symbols of human virtue or vice—and the "physiological" reality of the beast. The authors argue that by anthropomorphizing animals, we fail to see their genuine dignity. The book asks whether we can appreciate the beauty of a predator without demanding that it mirror our own emotions. By stripping away the "wigs" of allegory, it argues that a lion, in its raw, hungry, and unthinking state, possesses an aesthetic and structural perfection that is far more compelling than any human projection.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate the history of natural science or the evolution of art criticism will find this volume deeply engaging. It offers a fascinating window into the nineteenth-century mind, which was simultaneously obsessed with pinning down the "truth" of nature and deeply rooted in the artistic traditions of the past. The tone is refreshingly direct; the authors are not afraid to be opinionated, and their prose has a sharp, Victorian precision that feels both formal and surprisingly accessible.

However, a modern reader must be prepared for the period-specific attitudes contained within the text. The authors’ clinical detachment when discussing the death of animals—and their casual references to the colonial "hunt"—reflect the worldviews of their time, which may feel jarringly cold to contemporary sensibilities. Furthermore, the book is as much a technical manual as it is a collection of images, and it assumes a certain degree of familiarity with anatomy and art history. If you are interested in the transition from romanticized animal art to the birth of objective natural history, this work is an invaluable artifact. It remains a resonant study of how humans seek to define themselves by looking into the eyes of the "other"—and why we so often see only a reflection of ourselves.