Young Tiger Playing with its Mother

Young Tiger Playing with its Mother, created by Eugène Delacroix in 1831, is a masterful example of the lithograph medium, showcasing the French Romantic tradition of exploring untamed nature and powerful emotion. Delacroix, a key figure in 19th-century French art, moved away from Neo-Classical restraint toward dramatic intensity and exotic subject matter, often focusing on studies of wildlife.

This Print captures the intimate yet dynamic interplay between a large female tiger and her cub, emphasizing both maternal tenderness and the raw, inherent power of the creatures. Delacroix utilizes the greasy crayon characteristic of lithography to achieve rich textures and deep, velvety blacks, demonstrating the dramatic tonal contrasts that defined his graphic work. The immediate quality of the printmaking process allowed the artist to convey the animals' physical energy and movement, turning a simple study of wildlife into a profound statement on the wild sublime.

As a leading proponent of Romanticism in France, Delacroix frequently depicted exotic animals and dramatic narratives, subjects that deeply captivated the Parisian public. Works like Young Tiger Playing with its Mother reflect the period's cultural fascination with the untamed and the sublime during the 1830s. This piece, created at the height of Delacroix’s career, remains an important record of the artist’s prolific printmaking activity and is currently housed in the permanent collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.