Scout Attacked by a Tiger 1904

Henri Rousseau painted "Scout Attacked by a Tiger" with oil on canvas. He's working with a relatively limited palette. The greens are so green they're like pure feeling! You know, I bet Henri felt pretty isolated, like maybe people didn't quite get what he was doing. I'm picturing him really going for it, lost in the fantasy, surrounded by the luscious textures of leaves, letting the shapes lead him. And that tiger, its stripey fur, crouched low, so vivid, almost vibrating, the scout, frozen in this forever moment of fear and surprise... You can sense Rousseau just losing himself in the process. For me, painting is about embracing the unknown, trusting your instincts, and finding poetry in the unexpected. We can see other painters who were interested in similar themes, like Delacroix. Rousseau, I imagine, was probably looking at those paintings too! The tiger and the scout are the beginning of a conversation.