No. 1
The hands that stay bound
His wrists are tied behind his back and he has made no effort to free them. Rivière gives him no weapon, no shield, and no fear. The knot is the whole sermon: he does not need his hands.
Daniel in the Lions' Den, 1872. The original hangs in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.
Old World Canvas · The Masterworks
Daniel in the Lions' Den (1872)
Briton Rivière · Oil on canvas, 1872 · Walker Art Gallery
Seven lions. Bound hands. His back turned to all of it. The quietest miracle ever put on canvas.
A museum grade reproduction of the 1872 original
$49.90
Order today, ready to hang by August 27
- Free tracked shipping
- 100 day returns
- Arrives ready to hang
The canvas and inks
Museum weight 380gsm cotton canvas, printed with twelve channel archival pigment inks rated to resist fading for 100 years or more indoors, then hand stretched over kiln dried pine bars.
Shipping and delivery
Every canvas is made to order. Printing and stretching take 1 to 3 business days. Tracked delivery takes 2 to 5 business days in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and most of Europe. Shipping is free.
The 100 day promise
Hang it and live with it for 100 days. If it is not the piece you hoped for, send it back for a full refund and we cover the return. Transit damage is replaced free with a single photo.
About the artist
Briton Rivière of London was Victorian England's great animal painter, hailed as the successor to Landseer and called the prince of English animal painting by the New York Tribune. He took his lions seriously: he worked near the London Zoo and sketched there for years, painted a full oil study for this canvas at the zoo in 1871, and at times kept a lioness in his own studio to learn how the animals truly move. Even Charles Darwin reproduced his animal drawings in scientific work. Daniel in the Lions' Den made his name at the Royal Academy in 1872 and hangs today in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.
The Painting · 1872
Seven lions at his back. He looks up at the light.
Rivière paints the most dangerous night in the Old Testament with no angel, no fire, and no miracle you can see. Only a bound man, perfectly still, and a pride that cannot touch him.
The den is a stone tomb and the floor is scattered with the bones of the men who came before. Daniel stands barefoot, hands bound behind his back, thrown to the lions for refusing to worship King Darius as a god. Seven of them circle in the half dark, restless, unsettled, snarling at something they cannot see. He does not watch them. He turns his back on every claw in the room and lifts his face to the light above.
Rivière earned that stillness the hard way. He spent years sketching the lions at the London Zoo, painted a full study for this canvas there in 1871, and kept a lioness in his own studio to learn how the animals actually move. When the finished painting hung at the Royal Academy in 1872, it made his name. Where Rubens painted Daniel wide eyed with terror, Rivière painted a man so certain of his God that the predators are the nervous ones. The New York Tribune would call him the prince of English animal painting. This canvas is why.
Look Closer
Three places to look first
The whole miracle lives in three quiet details. Rivière painted them from life, not from imagination.
No. 2
Lions painted from life
Rivière sketched these animals for years at the London Zoo, painted a study for this canvas there in 1871, and kept a lioness in his studio. Seven predators, anatomically exact, and every one of them unsettled.
No. 3
The bones on the floor
Scattered across the stone are the remains of the men who were thrown in before him. Rivière shows you exactly what this room does to everyone else, so the stillness of the one man standing in it says the rest.
Printed at museum grade, so the details the story turns on stay razor sharp on your canvas.
The Canvas
Made to hang for the next hundred years
A painting that has lasted since 1872 deserves better than a poster. Every canvas leaves the studio the way a conservator would ask.
Giclee pigment inks
Twelve channel archival pigment inks, independently rated to resist fading for 100 years or more indoors. The firelight stays warm for decades.
380gsm cotton canvas
Museum weight woven cotton with a soft matte texture that holds the depth of Rivière's shadows instead of bouncing light off them.
Kiln dried pine bars
Hand stretched over solid kiln dried pine, cornered and tensioned so the canvas stays drum tight and never sags.
Ready to hang
Hanging hardware arrives pre installed on every piece. Out of the box and on the wall in under five minutes, no tools.
Choose Your Finish
Bare canvas or oak frame. The room decides.
Both arrive ready to hang. The difference is the voice the painting takes on your wall.
Frameless Canvas
Gallery wrapped, the image folds around a deep 1.25 inch edge. Quiet and modern. The scene floats on the wall with nothing between you and the paint.
Choose it for
- Calm walls and hallways
- Rooms that already have wooden furniture
- Modern spaces that want one old soul
Wooden Canvas
A solid wood floating frame with a fine shadow gap, the way museums case their canvases. The painting reads as the centerpiece of the room.
Choose it for
- Pale walls and formal rooms
- Above the sofa, mantel, or piano
- Gifting, where presence matters
From Their Walls
The walls it already hangs on
Collectors tell us where it went and what changed in the room. Their words, kept whole.
It stops people mid sentence
“Bought the 36x24 for my husband's study after he taught on Daniel 6. He stops in front of it every single morning. The lions look ready to move.”
Bought for my father
“The detail on the lions is incredible in person. You can see why Riviere spent years at the zoo. Shipped fast and stretched drum tight.”
Better in person
“I saw the original in Liverpool as a girl. Having it above my reading chair now feels like keeping an old promise. The calm in it is real.”
Our Promise
A hundred days on your wall before it is final
Hang it. Live with it through morning light and lamplight. If it is not the piece you hoped for, send it back for a full refund and we cover the return.
- 100 day returns Full refund within 100 days of delivery, return shipping on us.
- Damage replaced free If transit leaves a mark, one photo is all we need. A new canvas ships at no cost.
- Lifetime color warranty If the inks fade or the canvas sags under normal indoor conditions, we replace it.
Questions
Asked before it ships
Straight answers about what you receive, when it arrives, and how it is protected.
Is this the original painting?
No. The original hangs in the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, where it has been one of the collection's best loved paintings since the nineteenth century, and you can stand in front of it there. What you receive is a museum grade giclee reproduction on cotton canvas, hand stretched and ready to hang, printed edge to edge from the painting.
Is this the same painting as Daniel's Answer to the King?
No, and the two are often confused. Rivière painted this canvas, Daniel in the Lions' Den, in 1872 for the Royal Academy. Eighteen years later he returned to the story with Daniel's Answer to the King, which hangs in Manchester. This is the earlier, quieter painting: Daniel has not yet spoken, the king has not yet called down into the den, and the whole scene holds its breath.
Which size should I choose?
12x8 suits shelves, desks, and small nooks. 18x12 and 24x16 hold their own in hallways and on bedroom or office walls. 30x20 and 36x24 carry consoles, mantels, and dining rooms, and 48x32 is the statement size above a sofa. When in doubt, go one size larger. Undersized art is the most common regret we hear.
When will it arrive?
Each canvas is made to order. Printing and stretching take 1 to 3 business days, then tracked delivery takes 2 to 5 business days in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and most of Europe. Shipping is free and you receive tracking the moment it leaves.
What if it arrives damaged?
Send one photo of the damage and we ship a replacement at no cost. No return required, no forms, no debate.
Does it come ready to hang?
Yes. Hanging hardware is pre installed on both the frameless and the wooden version. Unbox it, place a single nail or hook, and hang. Under five minutes, no tools.
How do I care for it?
Keep it out of direct midday sun and dust it with a dry soft cloth. The pigment inks are rated to resist fading for 100 years or more indoors, so care really is this simple.
Anything else, write to hello@oldworldcanvas.com and a person answers within a day.