Wild Horse Felled by a Tiger 1828

Eugène Delacroix created this lithograph, "Wild Horse Felled by a Tiger," in the 19th century, a period marked by French colonialism and orientalism. Delacroix, like many of his contemporaries, was fascinated by the exotic "Orient," a fantasy-laden construction that often served to justify colonial expansion. In this piece, we witness a struggle, a power dynamic visualized through the raw, visceral encounter between a wild horse and a tiger. The horse, a symbol of freedom and untamed nature, is overpowered by the tiger, representing the exotic, the dangerous, and the "other." Consider the romanticism of the era, which fueled an interest in the sublime and the dramatic. Delacroix masterfully captures the intensity of the life-and-death struggle, a spectacle that both repels and fascinates. This work is a window into the complex relationship between Europe and the world it sought to dominate, revealing both a fascination with and a fear of the "foreign." It leaves us to consider the narratives of power and vulnerability that continue to shape our world.