Artist and Context

The painting was created by Henri Rousseau, a French artist known for his Naïve Art style, often associated with Primitivism.

Composition and Details

The painting depicts a vivid jungle scene with a dramatic encounter between a lion and an antelope as its central focus. The lion is shown mid-attack, biting into the neck of the antelope. The scene also includes other jungle inhabitants such as a panther watching from the right, an owl holding a bloody strand of meat in its beak, another bird to its left, and a dark ape-like shape lurking in the background.

Style and Technique

Rousseau's style in this painting is characteristic of Naïve Art, featuring a lack of perspective and depth, which creates a flat, almost dreamlike tableau. The color palette is rich with various green shades, set against the backdrop of a deep red setting sun.

Inspiration and Influence

Rousseau based the central pair of animals on a diorama of stuffed animals at the Paris Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, titled Senegal Lion Devouring an Antelope.

Exhibition History

The painting was first exhibited at the Salon d'Automne in 1905, alongside works by other avant-garde artists such as Henri Matisse and André Derain. This exhibition was significant because it included works that would later be associated with the Fauvist movement, although Rousseau himself was not considered a Fauve.

Reception and Legacy

Despite the initial negative reception of his earlier jungle painting, Tiger in a Tropical Storm (1891), Rousseau continued to gain a following among his contemporaries, including artists like Picasso, Matisse, and Toulouse-Lautrec. However, his work was often derided by critics during his lifetime.

Current Location

The painting is now part of the collection at the Fondation Beyeler in Riehen, near Basel, Switzerland.

Dimensions

The painting measures 200 cm by 301 cm (78.7 inches by 118.5 inches).