TIGER IN A TROPICAL STORM

'''Tiger in a Tropical Storm''' or '''Surprised!''' is an 1891 oil-on-canvas painting by Henri Rousseau. It was the first of the jungle paintings for which the artist is chiefly known. It shows a tiger, illuminated by a flash of lightning, preparing to pounce on its prey in the midst of a raging gale.
Unable to have a painting accepted by the jury of the Académie de peinture et de sculpture, Rousseau exhibited ''Tiger in a Tropical Storm'' in 1891 under the title ''Surpris!'', at the Salon des Indépendants which was unjuried and open to all artists. The painting received mixed reviews. Rousseau had been a late developer: his first known work, ''Landscape with a Windmill'', was not produced until he was 35, and his work is marked by a naïveté of composition that belies its technical complexity. Most critics mocked Rousseau's work as childish, but Félix Vallotton, a young Swiss painter who was later to be an important figure in the development of the modern woodcut, said of it:
It was claimed, either by Rousseau himself or by his friends and admirers, that he had experienced life in the jungle during his time in Mexico in 1860, where he had served as a regimental bandsman. In fact he never left France, and it is thought that his inspiration came from the botanical gardens of Paris, such as the Jardin des Plantes (which included zoological galleries with taxidermy specimens of exotic animals), and from prints and books. The figure of the tiger may have been based on a pastel drawing by Eugène Delacroix.
Despite their apparent simplicity, Rousseau's jungle paintings were built up meticulously in layers, using a large number of green shades to capture the lush exuberance of the jungle. He also devised his own method for depicting the lashing rain by trailing strands silver paint diagonally across the canvas, a technique inspired by the satin-like finishes of the paintings of William-Adolphe Bouguereau.
The tiger's prey is beyond the edge of the canvas, so is it left to the imagination of the viewer to decide what the outcome will be, although Rousseau's original title ''Surprised!'' suggests the tiger has the upper hand. Rousseau later stated that the tiger was about to pounce on a group of explorers. Although ''Tiger in a Tropical Storm'' brought him his first recognition, and he continued to exhibit his work annually at the Salon des Indépendants, Rousseau did not return to the jungle theme for another 10 years with ''The Hungry Lion''. His work continued to be derided by the critics up to and after his death in 1910, but he won a following among his contemporaries: Picasso, Matisse, and Toulouse-Lautrec were all admirers of his work. ''Tiger in a Tropical Storm'' was purchased by the National Gallery, London in 1972 with a contribution from the billionaire philanthropist Walter H. Annenberg.

Contents

References

References

★ Henri Rousseau: Jungles in Paris

★ Surprised!

★ 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die, Stephen Farthing (Ed.), , , Quintet Publishing Ltd, , ISBN 1-84403-563-8

★ Henri Rousseau: In imaginary jungles, a terrible beauty lurks