1836
watercolor
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
The Tiger Hunt is a 1836 watercolor by Antoine-Louis Barye, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This painting shows a wild scene with an elephant charging through a grassy landscape. On its back are two people—one standing, holding a spear, the other riding sideways. Below the elephant, a tiger lies on the ground, its mouth open as if caught mid-roar. The colors are earthy: the elephant’s gray skin, the tiger’s orange and black stripes, and the greenish-yellow grass. The artist used quick, loose brushstrokes to make the action feel fast and chaotic. The tiger’s position under the elephant’s feet suggests it’s being trampled, adding drama to the hunt. Next, look up Romanticism to see how this painting fits into that artistic movement.
Antoine-Louis Barye was a Romantic French sculptor most famous for his work as an animalier, a sculptor of animals. His son and student was the sculptor Alfred Barye.
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