Tigerjagd 1920

Briton Riviere painted "Tigerjagd" with oils and a whole lotta drama! You can almost smell the gun smoke and hear the elephant trumpeting, can't you? I wonder what Riviere was thinking, setting up this crazy scene? Did he want to show us the thrill of the hunt, or maybe something darker about power and nature? Look at the tiger's claws as they scrape against the elephant's tough skin, and that elephant has got the other tiger held in its mouth! The artist wants us to focus on the tension of the moment, the very fine line between life and death. Painters have always been borrowing, stealing, and riffing off each other. Riviere's painting feels like it's in conversation with history painting. Painting can be like a mirror, reflecting back what we think we know, but also messing with our heads, challenging us to see things in a new light.