The Sunburst Lion

About this work

Symmetry is everything here. The lion's head faces you directly, its face in cream and ivory, with bold black shapes for brows, eyes, nose and mouth and a few black dots on the muzzle. The amber-gold eyes are the first thing to meet your gaze. From the head, long pointed rays of textured gold leaf alternate with black, radiating outward to all four edges, with black background between them. The palette holds to three colours, black, cream and gold, and that restraint gives the image its force. Across a room it reads at once, like a poster or an emblem. Closer, the gold rays show a fine texture and a slight paper grain runs through the flat shapes. The mood is strong but calm.

Art Deco took its name from the 1925 Paris exhibition of decorative and industrial arts, and its graphic language spread quickly through posters, architecture and design in the 1920s and 1930s. The sunburst was one of its favourite motifs. It appeared on garden gates, radio cabinets, powder compacts and the stainless-steel crown of the Chrysler Building in New York, a symbol of energy and a modern age. Poster artists of the period cut images down to flat, bold shapes that could be read in a second from a passing car or train. The lion, long linked with the sun, strength and kingship, suits that language perfectly. This work follows Deco poster design, with a face of simple planes inside rays of gold.

With its black, cream and gold palette, this print stands out on white or pale grey walls and looks dramatic on charcoal, black or deep navy. A slim black frame suits the graphic look, or choose polished gold for extra shine; a crisp white mat sharpens the edges further. It holds its own in a hallway, a home office or above a console table, and spotlights or a picture light will make the gold rays flash. For a Deco pairing, hang it beside The Deco Greyhound; for two bold black-and-gold pieces, add The Mosaic Cat. A 60 × 90 cm print gives the rays real presence. Its 7168 × 10752 pixel master means a 300 dpi print keeps clean edges up to roughly 91 cm long.