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From Spenser’s Faerie Queene
In Edmund Spenser’s poem The Faerie Queene, Una, a figure of truth, wanders alone after losing her knight. A fierce lion meets her in the forest, but instead of attacking, it becomes her faithful guardian.
Briton Rivière painted Una and the Lion in 1882.
A pale, quiet woman
Una stands in a long white dress, her golden hair loose, her eyes lowered. Her calm innocence is what tames the lion.
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Una, painted by hand
Briton Rivière · oil on canvas, made to order
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A lion at her side, a lamb at play
The lion presses against her, head raised to her, as gentle as a dog. Rivière painted its heavy mane and muscles with great realism.
At the left, a white lamb leaps playfully, a traditional symbol of innocence. In Spenser’s poem Una leads a lamb, so Rivière included it.
Questions about Una
Who is Una?
The heroine of Book I of Spenser’s Faerie Queene, a figure of truth.
Why is the lion tame?
In the poem, the lion is overcome by her innocence and becomes her protector.
What does the lamb mean?
Innocence; in the poem Una leads a lamb.
When was it painted?
In 1882.
Sources and image credit
Public-domain reproduction of Una and the Lion (1882). Detail images are crops of the same image; no reconstruction or upscaling.
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Make Una yours
Briton Rivière · oil on canvas, made to order
$299.00$599.0050% off
Bring it home
See sizes and frames
Painted by hand in oil
Free shipping worldwide
90-day money-back guarantee
Real paintings, real brushworkSee what arrives at your doorBrowse all samples → 