"Tiger in wait" takes the viewer into the vastness of the desert. The realistic painter Jean Leon Gerome places the opulent work in four parts: in the foreground, on a hill of the steppe, sits a powerful tiger. He has turned his back on the viewer, his mouth is torn open, his eyes directed into the distance. Deposed in color, a huge plane appears, which the artist sets in pale gray.
This, in turn, is framed by a bare mountain landscape, which seems to continue indefinitely from left to right. Above: an almost serene blue sky with soft clouds. From here comes the light, which also plunges the mighty plain into glistening, almost merciless brightness.

But not the infinity of the barren landscape conveys drama in the first place! It is the royal tiger that Gerome has painted and illuminated down to the smallest detail with his magnificent coat and his tense posture. The tiger is the true ruler of this vast nature. With only a few sentences, he can bridge large distances. The tiger could thus become a danger to the deploying troops, who sees the viewer very small from the opposite side gathering in the plane. There is danger in the air here. Is an attack planned by humans? Are you collecting for a drill? Or will these soldiers have to fend off an attack? The tiger as a predator could be a metaphor for the probably upcoming fight here.

The painting immediately transmits to the viewer the power of the animal, the possible danger situation and the endlessly felt breadth. Here man can only exist if he stands together. In contrast, the animal also convinces alone. It does not seem frightened or powerless. The tiger shows interest and is focused on what is happening in the distance in front of his eyes.
Do people also perceive him in the plane? The artist does not answer this question. His painting leaves space and can be thought out in different directions!

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Tiger on the Watch by Jean Leon Gerome. Available as an art print on canvas, photo paper, watercolor board, uncoated paper or Japanese paper.
tiger · brown · watching · waiting · desert · caravans · plains · mountain · badlands · clouds