See, there's this shepherd guy and he's been losing his cows (?) to a vagrant lion, and the guy is really ticked and he's really buff, and well, enough is enough.
P.A. Leroux — A Shepherd Strangling a Lion — 1883
I try to imagine how this artist worked out the pose. If it's from his imagination, well and good. But if this guy is posing for the artist, is he, like, grappling a pillow, or what? Gosh I hope I don't stay awake tonight worrying about this.
It is a turning point in human civilization when people begin to feel sorry for the lion in these battles, rather than making the lion slayer a hero.
ReplyDeleteExcellent point, Pyracantha!
ReplyDeleteThe problem with a pillow is weight distribution. (Likewise for the wife's cat.) The problem with something that has the right weight is that it would quickly exhaust the model; but perhaps the artist was a quick study, in which case I'd suggest a bag of flour.
ReplyDeleteIn real life, a lion in such a situation would, with its hind legs, disembowel the strangler.
Shepherds by definition herd sheep.
ReplyDeleteHence my point of puttin' in a question mark where I did, thinking that there skull looked more cattle like than sheep like. Did ya see the question mark and the cattle skull? And ta let ya know, that caption wasn't made up by me. That's the real caption and that's why I put that there question mark in parentheses where I did cuz of that there cattle skull. Ya see.
ReplyDeleteHi Brer!