Why Medieval Lion Paintings Look So Hilariously Wrong

Medieval manuscript lion with an oddly human face and a wide, knowing grin

We will give medieval painters and artists a bit of a break for not having many reference materials to accurately depict lions in the wild. After all, with maned lions only existing in Africa, the artists painting these frescos and other pieces couldn’t easily look up lions in an encyclopedia. Others think that the artists purposely immortalized their lions in ways that match other fantastical beasts like unicorns and centaurs.

Even still, the range of strange, inaccurate, and downright hilarious interpretations of lions gathered below show that the beast remained an elusively hard animal to depict. Curated from imagery from the Middle Ages, it’s a fascinating and chuckle-worthy collection. Via JSTOR:

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Medieval illustration of a lion with a startled human expression and mismatched anatomy Manuscript lion drawn with a strange toothy grin by an artist who clearly never saw one Medieval painting of a lion with bulging eyes and a curled, serpent-like tongue Illuminated manuscript lion with a flat human face and an unconvincing mane Medieval fresco lion that looks more like a bewildered old man than a big cat Middle Ages lion illustration with spindly legs and a comically cheerful smirk Medieval beast meant to be a lion, complete with wrong proportions and a sheepish grin Medieval artwork of a lion with a curiously human nose and wide staring eyes Manuscript lion rendered with dog-like features and an oddly polite expression Medieval lion painting with a wild mane and a puzzled, almost apologetic face Illuminated lion from the Middle Ages sporting a lolling tongue and cartoonish snarl Medieval depiction of a lion with strangely human lips and a theatrical grimace Manuscript lion with a squashed face and startled eyes, far from real lion anatomy Medieval illustration of a grinning lion that resembles a mustachioed man in costume Middle Ages lion drawing with an unsettling human smile and improbable curly mane

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Edited by Ben VanderVeen · About Moss & Fog

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2 Comments

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peridexion 4 years ago

The third image down after the text introduction technically isn’t a lion – it is a manticore, a beast with the body of a red lion, the tail of a scorpion, and the face of a man. I guarantee you it was meant to look like it had a human face.

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