Portrait of Mr. Van Amburgh, As He Appeared with His Animals at the London Theatres

Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, 1802–1873

Summer 1846 to March 1847

Oil on canvas

Yale Center for British Art

A man in a white tunic and red belt stands in a cage with several lions, a tiger, and leopards. He points to the right, while the animals look in various directions. A newspaper and a bouquet of flowers lie on the floor in front of the cage. Isaac Van Amburgh (1805–1865) was an American lion tamer who was popular on the London stage. Queen Victoria attended his show no less than six times in 1838, staying afterward on one occasion to witness the feeding of the beasts. This portrait was commissioned by the Duke of Wellington (who defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo). When the duke commissioned the painting, he pointed out a passage in the bible (Book of Genesis) in which God grants humankind domination over other creatures. The duke specified that the passage be somehow inscribed on the work. Landseer would later comment that the painting was his own “sacred subj