The artwork “Fight Between a Tiger and a Buffalo” was created by Henri Rousseau in 1908. Executed in oil on canvas, it measures 55 by 46 centimeters and exemplifies the Naïve Art movement, also known as Primitivism. This wildlife painting is part of the collection at the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
In the artwork, Rousseau depicts a dramatic scene set in a lush, dense jungle. The central focus is a violent confrontation between a tiger and a buffalo, rendered in a style characteristic of Rousseau’s primitive approach to painting. The tiger, with bared teeth and extended claws, is caught in the act of pouncing on the buffalo, which in turn, appears to be caught off guard and recoiling from the attack. The use of vibrant colors and bold outlines imbues the painting with a sense of vibrancy and tension.
Rousseau’s use of perspective and scale plays with the viewer’s sense of depth, as the plants in the foreground are disproportionately large compared to the animals, a common feature in his work that contributes to the painting’s dreamlike atmosphere. The dense vegetation is meticulously detailed, with various types of foliage and flora represented in an almost decorative manner. Despite the ferocity of the subject, the painting has a certain static, almost serene quality, testifying to Rousseau’s unique artistic vision and his detachment from traditional academic techniques.
