Georges-Frédéric Rötig (French, 1873–1961)
Untitled (Tigers)
Watercolor, 9 3/4 x 12 3/4 in.
Signed lower right: G F Rötig
DM1848

Commenting on a version of this work exhibited at the Salon in 1913, the critic Léon Plée noted in Les Annales (May 4, 1913) that Rötig had painted these tigers from life––not in their natural habitat though, but “in the beautiful Provençal light” at the Marseille zoo. Plée went on to praise Rötig as the “master of the genre,” who would soon depict all of the “tumultuous menagerie that escaped Noah’s Ark.” Plée singles out Rötig’s tigers as exceptional, suggesting that the works “would have captivated Barye,” referring to the famed sculptor Antoine-Louis Barye, who was also praised for his depictions of ferocious felines.