Currently not on view
A Tyger (Sleeping Leopard),
1788
George Stubbs, British, 1724–1806
2010-165
One of the most celebrated and innovative animal painters in Western art, Stubbs imbued his vibrant portrayals of exotic wildlife with a highly nuanced truthfulness to nature. In addition to the numerous reproductions made by professional printmakers after his paintings, he published twelve of his own prints in 1788. While most of these are etchings, A Tyger is the only mezzotint, a medium well suited to capture the rich, unbroken black of the night sky and the velvety texture of the leopard’s coat. The “tyger” in the original title was frequently used in the eighteenth century as a generic term to describe all big cats except lions.
More About This Object
Information
Title
A Tyger (Sleeping Leopard)
Dates
1788
Maker
Medium
Mezzotint
Dimensions
15.2 × 20.3 cm (6 × 8 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of Charles A. Ryskamp
Object Number
2010-165
Place Made
Europe, England
Inscription
Inscribed in plate, lower center: Painted, Engrav'd & Published by Geo Stubbs, 1 May 1788, No 24 Somerset St Portman Sq London
Reference Numbers
Lennox-Boyd 77
Type
- C. A. Lennox-Boyd, George Stubbs: The Complete Engraved Works (Culham: Stipple Pub.; London : Distributed by Sotheby's Publications; New York: Distributed in USA and Canada by Harper & Row, 1989)., no. 98
- "Acquisitions of the Princeton University Art Museum 2010," Record of the Princeton University Art Museum 70 (2011): p. 69-110., p. 86
