Wild Cat, from "Eaux-Fortes Animaux & Paysages"

Art Historical Context

Created around 1860, *Wild Cat* belongs to the print series *Eaux-Fortes Animaux & Paysages* (“Etchings of Animals and Landscapes”). The work is an etching, a technique in which lines are incised into a metal plate with acid, allowing artists to achieve remarkably fine detail and varied textures. This medium was especially well suited to capturing the alert posture and dense fur of a wild feline, giving viewers an intimate sense of the animal’s presence on the small plate measuring just over six by four inches. Although the precise roles of Jules Géruzet, Karl Bodmer, and the publisher Bertauts remain collaborative, the series reflects the nineteenth-century fascination with natural history and the growing popularity of affordable prints that brought images of wildlife into homes and studies. Acquired by the Metropolitan Museum in 1959 as part of the Elisha Whittelsey Collection, the etching continues to exemplify how printmaking bridged art and science during this period, offering both aesthetic pleasure and careful observation of the natural world.

About the Artist

Jules Géruzet|Karl Bodmer|Bertauts (Belgian|Swiss|French) · 1817 |1809 |1830 –1874 |1893 |1860

Belgian, Soissons 1817–1874 Brussels|Swiss, Riesbach 1809–1893 Barbizon|