Tiger
1886
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1886
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
A tiger crouches low in tall grass, its orange fur glowing against the dark greens. The animal’s eyes lock onto something off-canvas, muscles coiled like a spring. Swan painted this before his 1870s shift to sculpture, so it’s all about brushwork. Look closely: the whiskers are single hairs of paint, not lines. That tiny detail shows how Swan studied animals firsthand, not just from books. If you like this, check out John Macallan Swan (British, 1847–1910).
