Daniel in the Lion’s Den is a mixed media painting made by Leroy Almon in 1996. The painting measures approximately one by two feet and is hung in a landscape orientation, meaning its largest side runs parallel to the ground.The artwork is made with acrylic paint on top of carved wood, giving the painting a textured and dynamic surface. Leroy Almon is a self-trained painter, and his marks are direct and instinctive. This artwork is an example of bas-relief within the subject of folk art. Bas-relief is when one carves into a 2D plane to create grooves to accentuate figures and objects, in this case, wood. Folk art is a genre of painting that depicts traditional life, shared cultural aesthetics and social issues.The painting depicts the biblical story of Daniel, who was thrown into a den of lions but miraculously survived. A large central male figure and a lion dominate the composition, taking up roughly half of the space. The colors throughout are brightly saturated. The human figure, Daniel, has dark brown skin and lies on his back with his face and torso facing upward. Above him, a light brown muscular lion with two red eyes, triangular ears, and a thin curled tail attacks him, biting into his neck. Blood drips down Daniel’s neck and chest. He is bare-chested and wears bright blue shorts. His arms and legs are positioned to support his body slightly above the ground despite the attack. His face is in profile, pointed upward toward the sky. He has red lips, short black hair, and one visible eye rendered as a black dot surrounded by a large white oval.The background is divided into four horizontal sections. At the bottom is a green strip of grass beneath and behind the central figures. In the bottom right corner, there’s a square of unpainted wood within the grass containing the carved letters “L” and “A”—the artist’s signature. Above the grass with its pointed triangular edges is a rich reddish-brown area representing dirt. Above this are two large gray mountains formed by triangular shapes, their peaks nearly touching the top of the frame. Behind the mountains is a blue sky with two white clouds positioned between each mountain top. In the top left corner, there’s a bright red circle containing a large eye, likely representing divine presence watching over Daniel during his ordeal.