This small picture is Stubbs’ first surviving experiment in painting in enamel colour on porcelain. The medium of enamel gave a permanence to the colours and produced a startling effect of clarity noted by the artist’s contemporaries. Stubbs’ enamels were not hung to effect in the Royal Academy as they were overwhelmed by the shadowy effects of Rembrandt-inspired artists such as Sir Joshua Reynolds (q.v.) whose pictures were placed in more prominent positions. Throughout his career Stubbs was preoccupied with exotic animals, particularly lions and tigers, although many other animal species feature intermittently in his work. Here, the lion is shown in monumental isolation even though the whole picture is on a small scale. The pale tonalities and matt surface were gradually developed by Stubbs in collaboration with Wedgwood culminating in the enamel portraits of Josiah Wedgwood and his wife which are still in the Wedgwood collection Barlaston, Staffordshire.

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