The Jealous Lioness, 1885 – 1890

About the Work

The weapons of a woman: the female lion tamer lays claim to the lion with calm confidence while the jealous lioness snarls at her threateningly. As the two rivals violate the boundaries of their respective territories – the woman’s hand reaches into the cage, the lioness’s paws grope out between its bars – the object of desire merely watches. With a subtle sense of humour, the painter Paul Meyerheim – a friend of Adolph Menzel – staged not only the reversal of gender roles in the domination of the male by the female, but also the superiority of reason over ‘wild nature’.