French artist, Henri Rosseau, painted this picture of a tiger stalking a jungle in a storm in 1891 with oils. It’s the first in a series of paintings he painted like this, with bright colours and lots of plants.
Lots of people have very different opinions about art, and neither is right or wrong. Some people say the tiger is being hunted in this painting, and other people say the tiger is hunting something.
A storm is coming to the jungle
See the rain is streaking fast
My fur is wet my tail is dripping
Hope this rain storm does not last!
Stalking quickly through the bushes
Raindrops dripping off my nose
See that pile of leaves
it’s moving!
I’m so scared I think I froze!
THUNDERCLAP!
Sounds like it’s a scary ghost!
I want to get back to my den
So I can hide as warm as toast.
Eeek!
Lightning scares me
Thunder booming
Scratches in the undergrowth
What’s that hiding! Will it bite me!
Bite or scratch me – maybe both!
A tiger shouldn’t be afraid
And everybody tells me that
But I can’t help it! I can’t help it!
I am just a scaredy cat!
THUNDER!
Can you come up with a poem or a story about this painting?
What do you think the tiger is doing here?
He looks ready to pounce, doesn’t he? Perhaps he’s defending himself, or he’s seeking out his next tasty morsel. Do you think the lightning and rain in this painting are important to the story?
Make sure your story or poem has a beginning, a middle and an end!
How does the tiger start his day? And how does he get to be in this part of the jungle in the thunder and lightning? How does the story end? Does he get captured, or does he get his dinner after all?
Can you stalk your prey like a tiger?
Have a go at pretending to be the tiger in the painting! Crouch down low, and hide among the leaves on the jungle floor. Have a think: it’s raining and thundering, would I be cowering from the lightning, too? Then get ready to POUNCE and ROAR!
Click on a painting below to explore more!
