This month’s challenge art, Tiger in a Tropical Storm by Henri Rousseau, reminds me of this most famous poem.
The Tyger
BY William Blake
Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies.
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand, dare seize the fire?
And what shoulder, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?
What the hammer? what the chain,
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp,
Dare its deadly terrors clasp!
When the stars threw down their spears
And water’d heaven with their tears:
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
Tyger Tyger burning bright,
In the forests of the night:
What immortal hand or eye,
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
The tiger in this poem, and in this painting, is a fearsome sight. It is fully of raw power and unbridled fury. I see the coiled tiger about to strike in the midst of this great stormy wind. Makes me wonder if I am the hunter or the prey. A powerful poem – and art – indeed.
Loads to work with! So many greens, the shapes of the leaves, the stripes of the tiger, the lightning bolt in the sky. What intrigued you about this painting? Let’s see what you created…
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