Tigre dans la jungle

Reading the work

A tiger guards its prey, jaws open in a silent snarl, while above it monkeys, a gliding snake and an impenetrable tangle of lianas, ferns and pods fill the surface. Here Cottet pushes the engraver’s art to virtuosity: every strand of fur, every tendril is laid with the burin, making the thicket all but vibrate. The work belongs to the tradition of the exotic animal – kin to the dreams of a Rousseau, yet of naturalist precision.