Rebecca Solomon (1832-1886). The Lion and the Mouse: Sweet Mercy is Nobility’s True Badge. Monogrammed, 1865. H 66.8 x W 81.5 cm. The gilt frame with ridged edges is thought to be original. Collection: The Museum of the Home, accession number 30/1980 (purchased from Roy Miles Fine Paintings Ltd with the assistance of the Victoria and Albert Museum Purchase Grant Fund, 1980). The Museum of the Home owns the copyright of the photograph (no. 6595), but has kindly allowed us to reproduce it here. Click on the image to enlarge it.
Using its reference to Aesop's fable of the same title, this genre painting tells a very human story of a small power (hopefully) making an impression on a much larger one. The story involves class distinction, youthful misdemeanour and feminine sympathies. The situation is this: the boy in the sailor suit, with a hang-dog expression, has obviously been caught poaching. On the right, the estate owner, a distinguished-looking gentleman seated in his chair rather like a judge, points at the incriminating evidence hanging limply just beside the lad. His gamekeeper is holding a dead rabbit. Next to the youth on the other side, and holding his hand, is his mother, visibly distressed. Tension is at its very height here, but there is hope for the guilty party, because a small girl, who must be the estate-owner's granddaughter, is clearly begging the older man to be lenient. The gamekeeper waits, somewhat quizzically, wondering how his employer will respond. Looking at the painting, we are in a similar position ourselves.
The poacher's situation is somewhat altered by the fact that he is involved with the services, perhaps as a cadet. This in itself attracts our sympathy, and gives him a certain respectability. It could be that he was simply trying to put food on the table. Although the mother is respectably clad, both look rather pinched, especially the youth. There is certainly a gulf between these two and the estate-owner. The framed picture on the wall might have relevance here. Is it perhaps a Biblical scene? — Jacqueline Banerjee.
Bibliography
"The Lion and the Mouse: Sweet Mercy is Nobility’s True Badge." Museum of the Home. Web. 6 October 2021.
Created 3 October 2021