Artwork
Attaque du tigre
Attaque du tigre is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Louis-Candide Boulanger. It dates from 1836 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Louis‑Candide Boulanger’s 1836 lithograph *Attaque du tigre* presents a dramatic confrontation between a mounted rider and a ferocious tiger. The rider, dressed in a turban and white shirt, leans forward with a spear while his horse rears, its leg clamped by the animal’s jaws. A dark, forested backdrop frames the violent encounter, emphasizing the tension and movement inherent in the scene.
Subject & Meaning
The image captures a moment of life‑or‑death struggle, a popular motif in Romantic art that explored humanity’s clash with untamed nature. By placing a human figure, equipped with a weapon, against a powerful tiger, Boulaire underscores themes of bravery, peril, and the exotic allure of distant lands that fascinated early‑nineteenth‑century audiences.
Technique & Style
Executed as a lithograph on chine collé, the work combines the fine lines of the print medium with the textured surface of a paper mount. Boulanger’s handling of line and contrast creates a sense of motion, while the stark chiaroscuro of the jungle background heightens the drama. The composition reflects Romantic preferences for vivid, emotionally charged imagery.
History & Provenance
Created in 1836, the print belongs to Boulanger’s broader output that included religious, allegorical, and genre subjects. Though specific ownership records are limited, the work has circulated among collections of 19th‑century French prints, illustrating the artist’s engagement with the popular print market of his time.
Context
During the 1830s, Romanticism encouraged artists to depict intense, exotic scenes that evoked strong feelings. Boulanger’s choice of a tiger—a symbol of the wild and the unknown—mirrored contemporary European fascination with far‑off territories and the dangers they represented, aligning the work with the era’s broader cultural currents.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Louis Candide Boulanger (1806 – 1867) was a French Romantic painter, pastellist, lithographer and a poet, known for his religious and allegorical subjects, portraits, genre scenes.
L'Ane et les deux voleurs
The Triumph of Death: After the Battle (Le triomphe de la mort: Apres le combat)
The Hunt of the Lion and Lioness
Il y eut des luttes et des vaines victoires (There were struggles and vain victories)
Saint George and the Dragon
Untitled
Lion Devorant un Cheval (Lion Devouring a Horse)
The Proverbs: The Horse-Abductor