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"Fight between a Tiger and a Buffalo" is a vivid and dramatic painting created in 1908 by Henri Rousseau, a French post-impressionist artist known for his naïve or primitive style. The painting captures an intense moment of struggle and raw power in the animal kingdom, a common theme in Rousseau's jungle scenes.

Visual Analysis:

1. Composition and Scene:
- The painting depicts a fierce confrontation between a tiger and a buffalo amid a dense and vibrant jungle. The tiger is poised in mid-attack, its powerful muscles tensed and claws unsheathed as it bites into the buffalo's side.
- The buffalo, evoking a sense of both struggle and suffering, has its head turned away in anguish, its large, dark eyes wide open. Its hooves are planted firmly onto the ground, trying in vain to stave off the fatal attack.

2. Color and Light:
- Rousseau uses a rich palette of greens and browns to bring the jungle scenery to life. The lush foliage is detailed with varying shades, creating depth and texture that envelop the combatants.
- The bright orange and black stripes of the tiger contrast starkly with the earthy tones of the buffalo and surrounding flora, making the predator the focal point of the piece.
- Light and shadow are used sparingly but effectively, with Rousseau's typically flat perspective adding to the almost surreal quality of the scene.

3. Detail and Emotion:
- The leaves, plants, and trees are meticulously detailed, showcasing Rousseau’s fascination with nature despite rarely having left Paris.
- The expressions of the tiger and buffalo are charged with emotion, the former with predatory determination and the latter with pain and desperation.
- Exotic flowers and oversized foliage contribute to the fantastical element of the scene, consistent with Rousseau’s dreamlike representation of untamed nature.

Artist: Henri Rousseau
Henri Rousseau (1844-1910), often referred to as "Le Douanier Rousseau" due to his job as a toll collector, was a self-taught artist whose work was initially met with derision by critics. However, his unique, stylized approach eventually garnered admiration from avant-garde artists such as Picasso and the Surrealists.

Artistic Movement:
Rousseau is typically associated with the Naïve art movement, which is characterized by a straightforward, childlike simplicity and a lack of conventional technical training. His work also shows aspects of the Symbolist movement, particularly in its dreamlike and imaginative nature.

Placement in Career:
“Fight between a Tiger and a Buffalo” comes from Rousseau’s later period, around two years before his death in 1910. By this time, Rousseau had refined his jungle scenes—a hallmark of his work—after exploring this theme in various other notable paintings like “The Dream” (1910) and “The Hungry Lion Throws Itself on the Antelope” (1905).

Museum and Exhibitions:
The original painting "Fight between a Tiger and a Buffalo" is housed in the Cleveland Museum of Art, which has an esteemed collection of works by French post-impressionist masters.

Noteworthy Details:
- Rousseau never visited a jungle; his inspiration came from visits to botanical gardens, zoos, and his fascination with stories of exotic lands.
- His precise, almost illustrative greens are noteworthy for their detail and shade variations, which give the jungle its surreal and immersive quality.
- The contrast between the ferocious action of the tiger and the serene, meticulous representation of the foliage contributes to the surreal atmosphere typical of Rousseau’s jungle paintings.

Rousseau's work, including "Fight between a Tiger and a Buffalo," continues to be celebrated for its imaginative power, intricate detail, and emotive strength, reflecting both a personal and universal exploration of nature's wild and untamed aspects.