This sheet was not known to Zieseniss when he produced his catalogue raisonné of Barye's watercolors. The scene follows the pattern of Barye's watercolors, featuring a solitary animal set before a landscape described with a predominantly brown palette and thick brown and gray washes, yet it lacks the animation and texture of his best examples. The tiger is similar to the one seen standing and in profile in Barye's watercolor depicting two Bengal tigers (private collection, Paris; Zieseniss B 51). Joseph Baillio noted that the pose of the seated tiger was developed from a drawing in a private collection (see Baillio 1994, no. 128).
Zieseniss, Charles-Otto, and Barye, Antoine Louis. "Les Aquarelles De Barye : Étude Critique Et Catalogue Raisonné / Charles Otto Zieseniss." Paris: Librarie Centrale Des Beaux-Arts, C. Massin, 1954.
Barye, Antoine-Louis, Baillio, Joseph, and Wildenstein Company. "The Wild Kingdom of Antoine-Louis Barye, 1795-1875 : A Loan Exhibition for the Benefit of the Wildlife Conservation Society, November 4-December 9, 1994 / [exhibition Curated and Catalogued by Joseph Baillio]." New York: Wildenstein, 1994, no. 43.
Signed in red, at lower right, "Barye".
Trothingham family, former owner.
Tully, Alice, 1902-1993, former owner.