A Tyger (A Recumbent Leopard by a Tree)
May 1, 1788
Medium
Etching with roulette in black on off-white wove paper
Dimensions
Sheet: 25.6 × 32.8 cm (10 1/8 × 12 15/16 in.); Image: 22.5 × 31.3 cm (8 7/8 × 12 3/8 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
141456
Art Historical Context
George Stubbs, a pioneering British artist renowned for his meticulous depictions of animals, created *A Tyger (A Recumbent Leopard by a Tree in 1788. This etching a recumbent leopard poised gracefully beside a tree, showcasing Stubbs' signature anatomical precision and lifelike realism. At the time, exotic animals like leopards were symbols of the wild and the expanding British Empire, often featured in art to evoke wonder and scientific curiosity. Printed using etching with roulette—a technique that employs a textured wheel to produce fine, velvety lines on off-white wove paper—this work ex...
About the Artist
George Stubbs · 1724–1806
Stubbs was a popular painter of horses and dogs who enjoyed many commissions in London throughout the second half of the 18th century. He was elected R.A. in 1781, but this title was removed as he declined to submit a diploma picture. Comment on works: Animals, Sporting