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Crouching Tiger

1839
Not on view
One of Delacroix’s favorite activities was to sketch the lions and tigers in the menagerie at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. This exquisite ink drawing combines the knowledge gained from that exercise with his observations of domestic cats to portray the arched stance of a tiger about to pounce. In addition to the pen, Delacroix employed a brush to convey bolder lines, such as the rounded back, crease of the hind leg, and distinctive broad stripes of the animal’s coat. The swirling S-curve of the tail winding around the animal’s leg adds to the coiling potential of the pose.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Crouching Tiger
  • Artist: Eugène Delacroix (French, Charenton-Saint-Maurice 1798–1863 Paris)
  • Date: 1839
  • Medium: Pen and brush and iron gall ink
  • Dimensions: Overall: 5 3/16 x 7 3/8 in. (13.1 x 18.7 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Gift from the Karen B. Cohen Collection of Eugène Delacroix, in honor of Sanford I. Weill, 2013
  • Object Number: 2013.1135.5
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Studies of Horses, Eugène Delacroix French, Graphite and traces of brown ink on laid paper
Studies of Horses
Eugène Delacroix
A Bearded Man, Standing, and a Classical Head, Eugène Delacroix French, Pen and brown ink on tracing paper (mounted on heavy wove paper)
A Bearded Man, Standing, and a Classical Head
Eugène Delacroix
1815–63
Les Français peints par eux-mêmes encyclopédie morale du dix-neuvième siècle. Paris, L. Curmer, 1840-1842.
Eugène Delacroix
19th century
La Pietà, Eugène Delacroix French, Etching on chine collé; second state of two
La Pietà
Multiple artists/makers
1852
Studies of a Goat, Eugène Delacroix French, Graphite on wove paper
Studies of a Goat
Eugène Delacroix
1798–1863

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