Surprised by Henri Rousseau (Tiger In A Tropical Storm) was created in 1891. The painting is in National Gallery London. The size of the work is 129,8 x 161,9 cm and is made of oil on canvas.
About the Work
A tiger crouches low in thick jungle foliage, its back arched and teeth bared. It is not entirely clear what is happening, however. Is the tiger cowering in response to the flash of lightning in the upper right corner, or is it, as is more likely, stalking prey?
Rousseau reworked the canvas, and the darkened areas just above the tall grasses on the right may be traces of prey that was subsequently removed. Several contemporary reviews of the painting mention prey being hunted, and Rousseau himself later referred to the picture as A Tiger Chasing Explorers. The title may even be a play on the French phrase ‘grève surprise’ (lightning strike), linking the tiger’s imminent leap with the simultaneous bolt of lightning. The ambiguity adds an element of mystery to the painting, which may well have been Rousseau’s intention.
This picture was the first of around 20 ‘jungle’ paintings that Rousseau produced during his career. These pictures gave an aura of exoticism to both Rousseau and his art in his lifetime, and they continue to be among his most popular works. Rousseau’s jungles are entirely imaginary, as he never left France. He spent four years in the army from 1863, but his claim that he had served with a French expeditionary force in Mexico in the early 1860s had no basis.
The plants, painted in precise detail, are a mixture of domestic house plants and tropical varieties, which he had seen at the Jardin des Plantes (Botanical Gardens) in Paris. Run by the Natural History Museum, the Gardens included a dilapidated zoo (that nonetheless housed lions, tigers and jaguars) and new Zoology Galleries. Read more in National Gallery London
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