Jaguar killing Tapir 1893 - 1896

Wilhelm Kuhnert, a German artist, produced this image of a jaguar killing a tapir as an illustration. The image reflects an early 20th-century European fascination with the exotic and the natural world, often filtered through a lens of colonial power. The jaguar, a symbol of strength and dominance, is placed squarely on top of the tapir, visually asserting its superiority. Kuhnert’s detailed rendering of the animals speaks to the tradition of natural history illustration, but it also carries cultural baggage. Made in a time of European expansion and scientific exploration, the image implicitly reinforces a hierarchy, with the European observer positioned as the knowing, rational viewer of the natural world. To fully understand this image, we must consider the historical context in which it was created. Researching the artist's background, the scientific and artistic conventions of the time, and the role of natural history in shaping European attitudes towards the non-European world, can lead us to understand the cultural and institutional biases embedded in the image.