Tiger Resting in the Desert 1846

Editor: Here we have Delacroix's "Tiger Resting in the Desert," made in 1846. It’s an etching on paper, and I find its small size kind of intimate, like a captured moment. What strikes you most about this piece? Curator: I’m drawn to the labor involved in etching, a printmaking technique where the artist uses acid to cut into a metal plate. Consider the physical effort and the toxic materials Delacroix handled. It highlights a specific kind of artistic production of the time. How might this connect to Romanticism? Editor: Well, Romanticism often focuses on intense emotion and the power of nature. Maybe the grueling process reflects that intense artistic drive or even mimics the harshness of the natural world the tiger inhabits? Curator: Interesting. And where do the materials come from? The paper, the metal, the acids – these are all products of labor, extracted from the earth, manufactured and sold. Do you see this work as just representing a tiger or also revealing the structures that enabled its creation? Editor: I see what you mean! The "exotic" tiger is right there, but there’s a whole supply chain we’re not immediately considering. So, how does considering the process change how we interpret Delacroix’s intent? Curator: Perhaps it complicates it. Instead of solely focusing on the artist's individual genius, we examine the broader social and economic forces at play. It shifts our understanding away from purely aesthetic appreciation. Editor: I’m definitely seeing that. Looking at the materials and the means of production gives you a completely different understanding, almost political. Curator: Exactly! We started with Romanticism but found something more grounded in the material world.