Tiger 1740

Jean-Baptiste Oudry painted this Tiger in oil on canvas, likely sometime in the first half of the 18th century. Oudry was a painter in the court of Louis XV, where his skill in depicting animals was highly valued. The tiger, an exotic animal, sits in a darkened landscape. Oudry's depiction is less about zoological accuracy, and more about projecting power and imposing presence. The tension in the tiger’s pose and the snarl on its face suggest a creature both dangerous and vulnerable. During this period, the tiger served as a potent symbol of the exotic and untamed, embodying the complex relationship between the European aristocracy and the natural world they sought to dominate and classify. Oudry's tiger captures the essence of this era, reflecting both the human desire to control nature and the inherent wildness that resists such control.